Fluo Green
by Swift tales
Summary: Fourth in my Odd Colour Series, comes after Sharp Blue
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 1

Eric sighed as he got out of the hummer. It was just the start of shift and already the only thing he could think of was going back to the lab and find some remote closet to shove Ryan into. He was glad Ryan hadn't given up the job of being a CSI, for a minute there he'd been afraid the young man would quite.

He grabbed his kit and quickly headed towards the police tap flapping in the breeze. The scene was relatively remote, a body had been found by a jogger who ran the same course everyday because off the peace and quit. The body hadn't had any ID on him and they hadn't been able to identify him so far.

The guy had been shot in the head, right between the eyes, he'd have to send the bullets to Calleigh and… no, he'd have to send the bullets to the new labtech, what was her name again? Sarah, right, he'd have to send the bullets to Sarah. Sarah was a nice girl and she was good at what she did too. Calleigh had been small and blonde while Sarah was the complete opposite. She was tall and had midnight black hair that had been cut till just above her ears.

She was friendly and professional, she was perfect for the job and Eric had decided early on that he wouldn't treat her like he had treated Ryan in the beginning. He wouldn't treat her with contempt just because she was filling up a position that had been freed because one of his co-workers had died. He tried to avoid using the term replacing as much as possible.

She'd been at the lab for six months and she was absolutely great. She fit right in and people seemed a lot happier welcoming her then they had welcoming Ryan. But of course Calleigh died under completely different circumstances. Calleigh had turned on them and taken one of their own, that was unforgivable in a lot of eyes.

He approached the patrol officer standing guard by the crime scene. He was informed that a detective would show up as soon as possible and that he was to start processing the crime scene. Eric nodded and went straight to work, searching, bagging and tagging. He had been processing about over fifteen minutes when he heard it. There was a large clunk above him and he immediately looked up, towards the fire escape.

The sound came again but lower and immediately redirected his eyes towards the bottom and got a glimpse of a jeans jacket disappearing passed the corner. He grabbed his gun and went for it, hearing the footsteps of the patrol cop right behind him. The figure in front of him kept moving, not perturbed by Eric's warning calls.

Until of course he ran into a dead end.

"Miami Dade Police, don't move!" The figure stopped, breathing heavily. Eric kept his gun pointed forward. "Put your hands where I can see them and turn around slowly." The man raised his hands in the air and turned around. Eric lowered his gun in shock.

He was staring straight at the face of one Timothy Speedle.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 2

Eric stared through the window glass at Speed, or the man who looked like Speed. He had been lead to an interrogation room where they had taken his prints and a mouth swab. Valera was running a comparison right now. He'd called Horatio as soon as he arrived at the crime lab. And like clockwork he could hear the steadfast and secure footsteps of his boss behind him.

"So that's him?" Horatio asked, his voice calm and controlled. "Yeah." Eric answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Has he said anything?" Eric shook his head. "No, he just let us take his prints and DNA when we asked for it, didn't even want a lawyer, nothing." Horatio nodded, his eyes focusing fully on the figure inside the room, swivelling on his chair.

Eric shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "H, do you think it's really Speed?" Horatio turned to regard the other man and shook his head. "I really don't know, Eric. After what happened to Calleigh I feel like anything is possible." Eric sighed and nodded. "I know what you mean."

There was silence for a while, both studying the man inside the interrogation room. "Do… do you think we should tell Ryan?" Eric asked, a little unsure of how his lover would react to the news of the man he'd had to fill in for wasn't dead. Horatio seemed to consider his question earnestly. "I think you should wait with telling him until we're absolutely sure it's Speed." Horatio said. Eric nodded.

The Cuban sighed, he didn't know what to think of this situation. Speed was still alive and all of a sudden nothing made sense anymore. It felt so weird, seeing Speed sitting there. But then again maybe it wasn't Speed, maybe it was his doppelganger or something. He resisted the urge to snort, doppelganger, yeah right.

Hurried footsteps came their way and they turned their heads to welcome the arrival of Valera. The young woman seemed out of breath, shocked, surprised and weary all at the same time. Without saying a word she handed the results to Horatio who took one look at them and handed them over to Eric.

Eric only saw two words: positive match

He swallowed and looked back through the glass at the man swivelling in his chair. Timothy Speedle was alive and kicking and he could almost feel the floor sink away from underneath him. He didn't understand, or his best friend had just risen from the dead or he'd never died at all.

A ringing sound to the left of him startled him. It was Horatio's phone. He excused himself and stepped away from Valera and Eric. The Cuban shot the young woman a look and she just shrugged in answer. "Eric." He turned to Horatio who was putting away his cell phone. "We're needed at the front desk."

And the red head walked off, Eric following. "H?" Eric asked, not completely sure about what was going on. "Apparently, when we checked Speed's DNA it set off some alarm bells in the Federal Bureau, there is an agent waiting for us near the front desk." Horatio said, his voice grim and his stride wide and self assured, yet guarded.

The man at the information desk was dressed in a black three piece suit. A bit hot for this kind of weather, Eric thought, it was kind of obvious the man wanted to come over as self assured and collected and of course with just a touch of professionalism.

Horatio greeted the man, without a hand mind you. "You asked for me?" "Yes, I was hoping we could talk alone." The man asked, casting an eye on Eric. "This is officer Eric Delko and he was the one who found Timothy Speedle at the crime scene. Whatever you need to say can be said to both of us."

Horatio's voice was firm and didn't miss a beat. The Fed seemed edgy. "Is there some place we can talk then?" Horatio nodded. "This way to my office." The red head lead the way, Eric next to him and the fed behind them. When they passed the trace lab Eric took a peak inside, sneaking a glance on his lover who was concentrated on a piece of evidence. Eric resisted the urge to stop for a minute and continued walking.

Horatio's office was big, with lots of windows, too many windows as far as Eric was concerned. They'd tried to give the office of the new lab prestige and stuff like that, it was a bit overdone. But Eric didn't like the new lab in general, there were way too many glass walls and everything looked like it was meant to look impressive, while the real purpose and reason was the science. Of course, Eric didn't mind a little style, but the old lab had looked just fine.

Of course maybe the fact that the new lab was made entirely out of glass and prevented him from shoving his lover up a wall somewhere to steal a hard kiss might have something to do with it.

Horatio moved behind the desk but didn't sit down. He settled his hands on his hips, his piercing blue eyes focusing on the Fed. Eric tried not to snicker, he knew entirely too well what it felt like the have the complete focus off one Horatio Caine on him and he didn't envy the guy at all. Horatio could be really scary, especially when he had his 'Don't Fuck With Me' look on his face.

But that was only directed at bad guys.

And feds.

And IAB, but that went without saying.

"So, you wanted to talk with me?" Horatio asked, his voice as smooth as ice. The fed cleared his throat. "I'm here on the matter of Timothy Speedle." "Tell me something I don't know." Horatio said, his voice getting a harder edge.

Eric thought Horatio must be getting pissed off. Of course Speed and Horatio had been friends on a level he'd never achieved with the older man and the red head was probably pissed as hell to find out that the colleague he'd thought he'd buried wasn't dead. His boss was probably sick of all the shit going on at the lab.

First Speed died. Then Ryan got shot in the eye with a nailgun. Then the drug affaire with Eric. Then Calleigh kidnapping Ryan. Calleigh getting shot and dying.

And now it turned out Speed wasn't dead at all, yes, Horatio Caine wasn't a happy camper.

The fed looked a bit put out as if he'd been expecting a much friendlier welcome. Well he thought wrong. "Timothy Speedle has been undercover for over two years to help us bust one of the main drugs-suppliers in Miami. Apparently, that's the dead guy at your crime scene."

Horatio regarded the fed carefully, assessing and thinking deeply. Finally he nodded to Eric. "Eric, would you leave us alone for a minute and go check on Ryan. I think it's best if was informed off the situation." Eric nodded and after shooting the fed one last look Eric left the office.

He got to the trace lab and watched his lover work for a while, regretting the fact that he would have to shatter his lover's obvious good mood. Taking a deep breath he plastered a fake smile on his face and stepped inside. Ryan took one look at him and frowned. He put his evidence on the table and turned to him, his frown deepening. "What's wrong?"

Eric shifted uncomfortably, he hated it when that his lover could read him so well. They'd gotten a lot closer ever since the ordeal with Calleigh and Ryan was now able to pick up the slightest change in Eric's behaviour, to Rowen's great delight of course.

Eric hesitated. "Are you alright?" Ryan asked, hesitating slightly and then put a step forward, invading some of Eric's personal space, which seemed odd to the Cuban. Although they had agreed to tell their friends and family, and hadn't that been an interesting dinner affair, Ryan was always extra careful to be professional at the lab.

Eric sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, not sure on how he should bring the news. "It's about Speed." He said then, at a loss for words. Ryan looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow, urging his lover on. "It turns out... it turns out he isn't dead at all." Ryan's eyebrows disappeared into his hair line and he put a step back, making a move as if he wanted to yank the edge of his shirt if only the lab coat didn't stop him.

"What do you mean he's still alive?" Ryan asked, his voice an octave higher then normal and just a little shaky. "I mean what I said, he's still alive, apparently he went undercover, I'm not sure of the details but… yeah, he's not dead."

"I was processing a crime scene and I heard a sound and… I chased a perp and then I saw it was Speed because he ran into a dead end and he had to turn around. And when he did… well, I took him back to the lab and we did a DNA comparison and a fed is talking with H right now. It seems the guy he went undercover for is dead now…. But yeah… Speed's not dead."

The words sounded strange to his own ears.

Ryan bit his lip and Eric could already see the gears in Ryan's head turning, thinking and over thinking the situation. He knew his lover had always been insecure about his position in the lab which had always been strengthened by most of the labtechs' attitude towards him or the way he got compared to Speed. And now that Speed was back what would happen to Ryan?

Eric could feel the need to assure his lover rise inside of him but he couldn't do it here, in plain sight where everyone could just see them, dumb ass glass walls. "Ryan…" "What's going to happen?" Ryan asked, interrupting Eric. "I'm not sure yet, not entirely."

Ryan nodded and turned away from the Cuban. Eric could feel his heart break with the need to touch his lover and he reached for Ryan's shoulder but the younger man quickly shifted away from him. "I still need to process this, Eric." And Eric could hear the silent question to be left alone for a while. "Yeah, alright."

He walked away from the trace lab, one part of him screaming at him to turn around and say something, anything to make his lover feel better but the other part of him that had learned to deal with Ryan's OCD and just Ryan in general knew that there wasn't anything he could say at the moment.

He stood in front of the interrogation room again, silently watching Speed. And he wondered what the hell was going to happen now.

----------

Ryan could feel the panic rising in his chest, could feel it swelling and he desperately pushed it down, there was no need to have a panic attack in the lab, really.

So, Speed was still alive. The reason he'd been able to get a position in the lab had vanished and Ryan couldn't help but wonder if Horatio would send Ryan on his way and give Speed his job back. Ryan knew it was impossible for him to go back to patrols now, not with everything he'd seen and experienced, he wouldn't survive it.

Then there was Eric. The Cuban and him hadn't gotten along in the beginning because Eric had seen him as nothing as replacement and Ryan didn't blame him for that. But now that Eric had his best friend back all off a sudden Ryan had no idea how that would change the dynamics in their relationship.

And that scared Ryan most off all. Ryan hated not knowing something, it was one of the reasons why he'd become a scientist. He liked the way things were, no, he loved the way things were and he wouldn't want anything to change. For a minute he cursed Timothy Speedle for being alive after all and immediately he felt horrible.

He should be glad that Speed was still alive, Eric had his best friend back, Alexx had her baby back… that was good, right?

He sighed and tried to focus on the evidence but the doubt was gnawing at him and he really, really didn't know what to do. Suddenly in a clear moment he realized what he needed. He quickly slid out of his lab coat and went for the front desk. He met up with Sarah who was picking up her messages.

"Hey Ryan." "Hey Sarah." He genuinely liked Sarah. She was sweet, funny yet professional. She seemed to fit right in and Ryan was happy for her. He knew exactly what if felt like to be ripped away from your comfortable job with all your comfortable colleagues and find yourself in a new with new people, even if you did it voluntarily. It was hard.

He was glad that everyone had welcomed her with open arms, even if he hadn't gotten the same welcome. "How are you?" He asked. Sarah smiled. "I'm fine thanks, what about you?" Ryan rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I'm actually not feeling very well, would you mind telling Horatio that I clocked out early?" The young woman shook her head. "Not a problem."

He left the building immediately, not even stopping by the locker room. He got in his car. It took him a half an hour to get to his destination and another ten minutes to get out of the car. He walked up the garden path and rang the doorbell.

"Speed's not dead."

Rowen stared at him.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 3

Rowen stared at her friend for a while before the meaning of the sentence was recorded into her brain. She'd heard the name Speed often enough in the past, when Ryan told her about the man he'd been hired to basically replace and then when Ryan told her about the man his co-workers couldn't forget.

She stepped aside wordlessly, letting him in while assessing the situation.

It was obvious that Ryan had gotten out of work early, he was never done at this time of the day. From the way Ryan was looking Horatio hadn't talked to him yet, otherwise Ryan would have probably been here with Eric and there would have been a lot more to the story.

But now there was only: Speed's not dead.

Rowen didn't really know how to handle the situation, she wasn't used to people rising from the dead, or dealing with people who'd experienced people rising from the dead. She sat Ryan down on her couch and decided against making coffee.

She sat down next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" Ryan didn't answer for a while and then simply shook his head. "Do you want something to drink?" Ryan shook his head. "Do you want a hug?" Ryan nodded. She embraced him.

He leaned into her, grasping her tightly and she could hear his ragged breathing through the silence off the room. Realizing that she was probably dealing with a panic attack she gripped him tightly and ordered him to breathe with her. He calmed down after a while but she didn't let him go.

"Are you alright now?" "Maybe, I don't know." Ryan whispered, his voice even more muffled by the crook of Rowen's neck They stayed that way for a while, Ryan not wanting to move and Rowen not sure what to say but not letting go. She stroked his hair softly and they were silent.

But Rowen was in the room so of course silence didn't last for long.

"Wanna go out for coffee?" Ryan was silent for a while longer. "Okay."

------- ------

Horatio smiled kindly at Sarah. She still wasn't entirely comfortable around him and that was attested by the quiet "Sir?" She send his way. "Yes, can I help you Sarah?" The young woman smiled a bit wider. "Ryan asked if I wanted to tell you that he clocked out early, he wasn't feeling very well." He smiled at her and nodded. "Thank you." With one more smile he excused himself and made his way into the interrogation room.

Ryan had gone home early, the action didn't surprise Horatio on the least. Ryan needed something familiar and comforting at the moment and Horatio was willing to bet his golden shield that he'd gone to Rowen. The thought made Horatio feel a little bit better because the young woman would certainly take care of Ryan. The red head resisted the urge to sigh, what in the world was going on with his lab? Had someone broken a glass when they were installing the ever glossy glass walls?

Shaking off the ridiculous thoughts he set out to find Eric and found him, studying Speed through the glass walls. He stood next to the Cuban for a short while, not saying anything. "According to the fed, they had faked Speed's death and sent him in undercover. I'm not sure how they did, he won't say, but that's Speed alright."

"So what happens now?" Eric asked, turning dark eyes on Horatio. "We solve the case and find out who killed the guy Speed had gone undercover for. His name is Mathew David. At the moment Speed is a suspect and he'll stay here." "No, Horatio, what happens after that?" Horatio looked at the other man. "Let's take it one day at a time."

The Cuban sighed, not completely satisfied with Horatio's answer, but willing to listen. "I'll go and finish processing the crime scene then." Horatio nodded and the Cuban took off. The red head entered the interrogation room. "Hello Speed." The young man gave Horatio a look and then nodded in greeting. "H."

"So, Speed how have you been doing?" "I've been doing fine, how about you?" "I'm fine." "How about the others?" "Well, they're fine though there were a few tights spots there during your funeral." Speed ducked his head and refused to look Horatio in the eye. "I didn't want to go undercover, but next thing I knew I was waking up in a hospital somewhere in New York."

Horatio sighed and sat down. "Did you kill this guy?" Speed shook his head. "No." "Alright." "You believe me?" Horatio just looked at him for a minute. "I do." Speed nodded and then shifted in his seat. "Is there a possibility I might get my job back, after all of this?" "Maybe." Horatio said.

The red head stood and nodded to Speed in goodbye, the young man nodded back. Horatio left the room and sighed, alright, time to inform Alexx.

It wasn't difficult, finding Alexx, she was working on the body of a car accident and he found her brushing back the girls' hair. "You were taken far too soon honey." "Hello Alexx." She looked up at the sound of Horatio's voice and she smiled. "Horatio, what can I do for you?" Horatio smiled back and Alexx noticed immediately that his smile was strained. "Something wrong?"

Horatio sighed. "Not really wrong, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute. It's urgent." Alexx nodded, her face serious. "Alright." She snapped off her gloves and they stepped out into the hall way together for a minute. "Is everything alright?" Alexx asked, her voice laced with worry.

"Alexx… it's about Speed." Horatio could see her frown slightly. "What about him?" "It turns out… it turns out he's not dead at all." Alexx' eyes widened. "What?" "Alexx, Speed is alive." The woman looked bewildered and she put a few steps between them. "Are you sure?" "DNA doesn't lie, Alexx, I have him interrogation right now." The woman's lip quivered but she squared her shoulders. "I want to see him."

Horatio hesitated for a minute, not too sure if that was such a good idea or not but then decided to go ahead with it anyway. He nodded. "Alright, this way." He gently took her arm and if she leaned a bit more on him then she normally would have Horatio didn't say anything off it.

He lead her to the interrogation room and she just stood there for a while, looking at Speed through the glass. "Can I go in?" Horatio was silent for a while, but then nodded. She quickly walked past him and entered the room. Horatio turned away, not wanting to intrude on what was sure to be a private moment.

"Timmy?" Speed looked up at the voice and the swoosh of the door shutting. He stared at Alexx for a while before he stood slowly. "Alexx?" The woman put a step in his direction. A tear went down her cheek and she brushed her hand against his cheek. She took in a quivering breath and then suddenly she was hugging him, squeezing him tight and Speed hugged her back just as tightly. "I missed you so much Timmy." "I missed you too Alexx."

The woman pulled a way and raked a hand through his hair. "Oh, I can't believe you're alive." Speed let loose a sigh. "Yeah. I shocked the hell out of Delko." She smacked him on the arm lightly. "Don't you even joke about that. Did you even know how much we were hurt when we thought you were dead." Speed pulled her back into his arms. "I know Alexx, I was there at my funeral, car with tinted windows. I wanted to see you all one last time. I'm really sorry Alexx."

Alexx gave him one more firm squeeze before letting go. "Timmy, I'm just glad to see you alive and well." "That makes two of us."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 4

Eric opened the door silently and closed it behind him, making sure it didn't slam. He slid out of his shoes and tiptoed his way passed the kitchen and the living room, making his way up the stairs. He didn't bother turning on any lights, he knew this house by heart. They'd bought it together, Ryan and him, and he absolutely loved it.

He came up to the first bedroom, the master bedroom and he slipped inside. Stepping forward in to the dark room he flicked on a small light near the door, just enough for him to make out shapes and forms and to make sure no one in the bed woke up. He immediately noticed two lumps on the bed and rolled his eyes. Smiling, he moved forward and gently shook Rowen awake.

The young woman blinked a couple of times and then smiled when she saw him. "Hey." "Hey." He whispered back. She sat up and stretched, yawning and Eric could see she was wearing on of Ryan's t-shirts. "I'll be on my way then." She swung her legs over the side of the back, revealing a pair of pyjama bottoms Eric was sure were his. Eric shook his head. "It's too late to drive home now, why don't you take the guest bedroom? You're the only who uses it anyway."

Rowen grinned and nodded. She scooped up her clothes and headed for the door. She paused and turned around to look at him. "He was in a terrible state when he showed up at my doorstep. I was really worried there for a second. I think he's afraid that now you've got Speed back you won't need him anymore." Eric stared at her. "I'll always need Ryan. I love him, Speed was my best friend, but Ryan… Ryan is so much more." Rowen smiled. "I know that and you know that. Just make sure he knows it too." "Will do." She gave him a bright smile and left, clicking out the light near the door and closing the door softly behind her.

Eric slid into the bed and pulled his lover into his arms carefully, making sure not to wake his lover up. The young man relaxed in his grip and then snuggled further into the warm body. "Hmmmm." Ryan murmured and Eric chuckled. He buried his nose in Ryan's hair and inhaled deeply. He loved Ryan and Speed being alive or not didn't change anything about that fact. He sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing completely, falling asleep, his last thought being that he would talk to Ryan in the morning.

When he woke up it was because of Ryan's shifting and if the light in the room was any indication it was morning already. He could hear Rowen banging around in the kitchen downstairs. He groaned and tightened his grip on Ryan, pulling the young man closer. "Don't wanna get up yet." He mumbled, burying his head in the pillow. He could feel Ryan's body shake with suppressed laughter and he smiled to himself.

He lifted his head from the pillow and looked at Ryan; His lover was smiling gently and he couldn't help but smile back. "Good morning." Ryan said. "Good morning." Eric answered. There was a huge bang from the kitchen and Ryan winced. Eric chuckled at his lover's reaction, imagining Ryan's discomfort at the mess Rowen was sure to create in their kitchen. The younger man made a move as to get up, but Eric stopped him. Using his heavier weight he pinned Ryan to the bad. He forced Ryan's thighs apart and settled between them.

"Rowen said something interesting last night." Eric whispered softly while Ryan blinked up at him. "She brought an urgent topic to my attention and I think it's time I handle it." He kissed Ryan then, parting the other man's lips with his tongue and delving in. He tried to inhale Ryan, wanted to remember what Ryan tasted like forever, even though he knew the memory would never be enough. He pulled back and Ryan went with him for an inch before he let go. The young man panted slightly and whimpered in disappointment when his lips lost contact with Eric's mouth.

"Ryan, listen to me, open your eyes." Ryan obeyed, his eyelids going up revealing beautiful brown eyes, wide and impossibly beautiful and inviting. Eric smiled. "I love you, I need you, I want you." Eric said, leaning forward, his breath ghosting over Ryan's skin. "And whether Speed is alive or not, nothing is going to change that. I'll be with you as long as you'll have me." With those words he kissed Ryan again, not waiting for Ryan's response. He let his hands wander and he could feel Ryan's smooth skin underneath his fingertips. Ryan arched into him, whimpering in the back of throat. He released Ryan's mouth and kissed Ryan's throat, biting and licking at the sensitive skin.

Ryan moaned and threw his head back, baring his throat even more. Eric sucked on the skin and already he could feel Ryan's arousal pressing against his hips. His hand disappeared underneath the sheet and e softly stroked Ryan's erection. The younger man cried out in pleasure. Eric smirked and reached out for one of the bed sheets. Ryan put up a slight struggle then. "Rowen's just downstairs, she'll hear us." He whispered while moaning at Eric's ministrations.

"She won't mind, besides it's nothing she wouldn't heave heard before." Eric whispered in Ryan's ear. The man underneath him shook his head and whimpered. "Eric… please… no." He moaned again and Eric chuckled. "Ryan…" Eric breathed and he could see Ryan's resolve fade when he gave Ryan's arousal a firm stroke.

He pushed Ryan's hands back and kissed him while tying him up. Ryan arched against his bonds and Eric chuckled again. "What's wrong baby?" Ryan merely groaned at the question. Eric smirked again and rocked his hips against Ryan's, his own desire prominent. Ryan whined and bucked his hips upwards, trying to get more friction. But Eric supported his weight by setting two hands on the mattress on either side of Ryan's torso and lifted up his hips, moving them away from the man underneath him. "Not yet baby." Eric murmured, his voice husky and Ryan moaned in disappointment.

The other man merely smirked and nuzzled beneath Ryan's jaw before sucking on the skin, leaving a dark and visible hicky behind. It was Ryan's own fault Eric reflected, if Ryan wasn't so irresistible, if he wasn't so addictive he wouldn't be in this predicament, tied against the bed, skin flushed a lovely pink and eyes dark with desire and need.

Ryan moaned when he felt Eric's fingers breach him and he arched up, trying to take in more. But he couldn't move, not really and he could feel the sheets digging into his skin but he really, really didn't care.

Eric watched his lover, his eyes closed and his mouth open, trying to take in gulps of air while he strained against the bonds. He slipped on the condom and set himself in front of Ryan's entrance. He thrust in and Ryan cried out, arching his back and Eric groaned when he slipped inside the welcoming heat of Ryan's body. He stilled for a minute, catching his breath and he moaned when he could feel Ryan squirming underneath him.

"Don't make me tie your feet up as well, that way you can't move at all." Ryan whimpered at Eric's threat and the Cuban smirked. "I want you so bad baby." Eric whispered as he rocked further into Ryan, burying himself to the hilt. He pulled back and pushed back in, hitting Ryan's prostate. Ryan cried out and whimpered in need. "Oh God… Eric, I want… please.."

Eric started to thrust violently at Ryan's plea, pushing in further and further and he could feel Ryan wrap his legs around his waist while the young man begged for more. Eric groaned when he could feel himself practically slamming himself into Ryan and he knew that Ryan would probably still feel him for days to come but he really, really didn't care.

His orgasm rushed through him when Ryan climaxed, his muscles clamping down on Eric. Eric let himself go and sank his teeth into Ryan's shoulder, causing the young man to arch off the bed one more time. He relaxed completely and rested his weight on Ryan, snuggling into the warm body. "Hmmm, I love you." Eric said, whispering. "I love you too." Ryan whispered back.

They laid there for a while, until Ryan starting fidgeting. "We're gonna be late for work." Eric nodded. "Yeah, work." Slowly he got up and pulled himself away from Ryan, his body and his heart protesting heavily. "I'm going to take a shower. You wanna come with me?" Ryan shook his head. "No way, remember last time we had a shower together?" Feeling a warm flush cover his body Eric smiled. "Oh, yeah, I remember."

When he stood in the shower he could still hear Ryan's laughter all the way from the bedroom.

Ryan made his way down the stairs wincing slightly when he heard a crash coming from the kitchen. He made his way to where Rowen was creating havoc and saw her setting a stool back from where she'd knocked it over. "Hey." He said. She looked up and smiled widely. "Hey, want some waffles?" Ryan shrugged. "Sure."

She shoved a few on his plate. "When's Eric coming down?" "He's taking a shower." Rowen nodded and hummed to herself. She sat down across from him, taking a bite from her waffles. She swallowed and grinned. "Well… that was quite a ride up there." Ryan blushed deep red when she cackled loudly.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 5

Ryan rubbed his eyes tiredly, he'd been staring down the scope for hours, been hiding in his lab for hours, whatever he could do to avoid Horatio. He knew Horatio probably wouldn't toss him out on his ass because Speed turned out to be alive, knew that Alexx wouldn't abandon him because Speed turned out to be alive, knew that Eric wouldn't leave him because Speed turned out to alive.

But he couldn't help but wonder.

He'd come to the lab with everyone glaring at him and being a replacement and he'd worked so hard at getting the most basic of acceptance and now Speed was back and he couldn't help but wonder and worry. He sighed and shook his head, almost feeling the smack on the head Rowen would probably give him if she ever heard his sombre thoughts.

He peered through the scope again and made a few notes on a yellow note pad. He pulled back and stretched his aching muscles, trying to work out the kinks in his neck. He'd heard about the reunion between Alexx and Speed from DC, Mister Office Gossip, the guy seemed delighted at having a dead guy coming back from the dead. Ryan rolled his eyes, he was willing to bet that DC watched Bold and the Beautiful too.

"Ryan." A voice said from the door way and Ryan jumped. He turned to look at the speaker and blinked, did Horatio actually call him Ryan? He supposed he should have been getting used to it, Horatio had called him Ryan more then Mr. Wolfe ever since Calleigh had died. "Horatio." Ryan said, pretending his voice didn't sound as meek as it really did.

"I assume Eric told you about the news." Horatio said, stepping further into the room and standing next to the younger man. Ryan nodded. "Yeah, it's great. I'm glad he's alive. I mean, I know you guys used to be close and everything."

_God Ryan, you idiot, stop babbling! _

He shut his mouth to keep it from running like a faucet. Horatio stepped closer. "Well, we're still not in the clear, we have to make sure it wasn't Speed who shot Mathew David." "Mathew David, the guy Speed went undercover for?" Horatio nodded. "Yes indeed." Ryan nodded and fidgeted, he really didn't want to have this conversation.

"How is Rowen doing?" Horatio asked and Ryan could tell he was leading the conversation along gentler paths until he got to the real topic and for once Ryan was glad. Normally he preferred it when people dived in instead of beating around the bush, but he didn't think he would have been able to handle that this time.

So Ryan smiled. "She's great. A bit cranky that we haven't given her a key to the new place yet, but she'll probably blackmail me into giving her one soon." Horatio chuckled. "That does sound like her." Ryan grinned. "Sure does."

Horatio rested a hand on Ryan's shoulder and the younger man blinked up at his boss. Horatio frowned slightly. "Ryan, I think you should know that you belong in this lab. Don't let anyone tell you different. Speed might be back, but that shouldn't change anything. This is where you belong now and that's all that really matters."

Ryan smiled. "Thanks H." The older man smiled. He gave Ryan's shoulder one more gentle squeeze and let go. "No problem Ryan." He turned around to leave the lab.

"Hey H?" "Yes?" "Rowen called you, didn't she?"

Horatio chuckled.

----- ---- ---- ---

Speed was bored out of his mind. He'd been sitting in this interrogation room all day. Last night he'd gone home to his place to get some sleep but Horatio had asked him to come back in the morning and so he had and now he was bored.

He didn't really know why he was here in the first place. He sighed and looked out of the window, deciding to continue with his new hobby: people-watching. There were a lot of new people and it sure wasn't the same lab he'd left all those years ago. But then again, had he really expected nothing to change in the course of two years?

At the moment he was a bit surprised that Calleigh hadn't come to see him yet or that Horatio, Eric and Alexx hadn't said anything about her. Maybe she'd quit her job or something and it was still a sore wound. Then again he hadn't really talked to any of them that long. He hadn't seen Eric besides that shocking meeting in the alleyway, he'd only talked to Horatio a couple of times and had only talked to Alexx once.

Alexx had wanted to know everything he'd been doing. He couldn't tell her everything of course, but he'd told her as much as he could. He'd also told her that he might try to get his job back. She'd looked at him and nodded in understanding. "I can understand you'd want your life back, baby. But you have to know that a lot of things have changed." And that was it. She hadn't breached the subject again and neither had he.

Speed looked out of the window of the interrogation room again and noticed a young man with brown hair exiting the Trace lab. He sat up straight when he noticed Eric approaching him. He saw Eric addressing the younger man and they talked, laughing with each other and Speed didn't quite know what to think when Eric invaded the guy's personal space. He watched them interact with each other form a distance and if his eyes weren't deceiving him Eric was openly flirting with him, while the other man turned a shade of red.

He saw them say goodbye to each other while Eric approached the interrogation room. "Speed." Eric said, nodding in greeting and Speed nodded back. "Eric." The Cuban sat down. "I'm going to have to ask you a few questions you know, involving the case." Speed nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"Alright, so you were apprehended at the crime scene, … why did you run?" Speed rolled his eyes. "I'd recognized you and I knew you thought I was dead. I wasn't ready to just walk up and say: hey, Eric, guess what I'm not dead and I've been undercover for two years." Eric nodded, looking in his file. "Do you have any idea who might have shot Mathew David?"

Speed shook his head. "Not really, the guy was one of the main drugs suppliers the only ones I can think off would be his rivals, for the rest everyone benefited in the guy being alive." Eric nodded and was silent for a while. "So how have you been?" The Cuban asked, finally breaking the silence.

Speed shrugged. "I've been alright, missed this place like hell though." Eric smiled. "Well we missed you too." Speed decided to go for it. "So, who was that guy I saw you talking with?" A flash of surprised fleeted across Eric's features for a few minutes but then disappeared. "That was Ryan Wolfe. He used to be a patrol cop and joined the crime lab about two weeks after you left." Speed nodded. "Ah, my replacement."

"No, he's not your replacement. He just stepped up when a place became available and took a chance. He's not just your replacement." Eric said, his tone definite and defensive. Speed blinked for a minute, not understanding completely, but then shrugged. "Alright. So where's Calleigh?" Eric' face became completely blank and he didn't speak for a while.

Eric sighed and then decided to tell Speed the story. "She kidnapped Ryan, she went completely crazy Speed. I… Horatio and I … we had to shoot her." Speeds' face became blank after that. "You and Horatio shot her?" "She was holding a gun at Ryan's head. She'd stabbed Rowen too." "Rowen?" "She's a friend of Ryan's we hang out with. She's a real firecracker."

Speed nodded, his head reeling with all the new information while a lump was forming in his throat and he swallowed it down. Calleigh was dead. But this wasn't the time or place to mourn his friend.

"Jesus… a lot of things have changed since I left." Speed said. "What? Did you think that everything would stay the same or that when you came back everything went back to the way it used to be?" Eric asked, his voice filled with anger. "Of course not! I just didn't count on things changing this drastically." "You died, Speed, to use you were dead. Of course things changed drastically." They glared at each other, the table between them, functioning as a barrier.

Eric had no idea where all his anger was coming from. How many times hadn't he wished that Speed hadn't gotten shot that day? How many times hadn't he wished for his best friend to be alive? How many times hadn't he wished that tears could bring him back because they certainly had enough of that?

And now his best friend was alive and he had all this anger and no idea how to deal with it. He hadn't really thought much about how he felt about the whole ordeal, had been much to focused on making sure Ryan was alright. Had been much to focused on making sure that Ryan wouldn't panic on him and do something stupid. Deciding that he would think about his own feelings later he pushed aside his anger and defused his attitude.

"I heard you and Alexx met up. How did that go?" Eric asked, relaxing his tone and making sure it didn't sound as hostile as it had done a few seconds ago. Speed nodded. "It went alright." There was an uncomfortable silence for a while and Speed decided to break it. There were so many things he wanted to ask. "So tell me more about this Ryan guy." Speed asked, wondering exactly how close Ryan and Eric were.

An expression flitted across Eric's features that Speed had never seen before and he wasn't entirely sure what kind of expression it was. "Ryan is great, you'll probably meet him when all of this is over. I think you guys will get along." And suddenly Speed could name the emotion that shined through the expression on Eric's face and the tender smile that played on his lips when he spoke of Ryan.

"Are you guys… together?" Speed asked. Eric seemed to hesitate for a split second but then nodded. "Yeah, we are." Speed nodded and Eric looked like he wanted to say something else but Eric's pager went off. "Valera, test results came back. I've got to go." He stood up from his chair and left.

Speed didn't quite know what to think of this new development. So Eric and this Ryan guy. Huh, he hadn't had any idea his friend swung that way. And then… Calleigh was dead. For a minute he wondered if Eric and Ryan had gotten together before or after she died. Then decided it didn't really matter. He sighed and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. Things sure had changed. Speed had yet to decide if it was for the better or not.

---- ---- --- --

"Alright, now just make sure he takes the prescribed medication, has plenty of rest and drinks lots of fluids, preferably water. If it gets worse instead of better you give me a call. You can reach me on my cell 24/7." Rowen said, smiling at the worried mother. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be better in no time." Smiling one more time she shook hands with the mother, gave the son a wink and lead them out of the office. She checked with her secretary and smiled in relief when she was informed that was the last one for the day.

She flopped down behind her desk in the big in the big comfy chair she'd put there and wondered why in the blue fuck she'd decided to open her own practice. Groaning at the thought of the paper work she should be doing she decided to do it in the morning and take off. She wondered if Ryan was off yet, or maybe Eric, so she could find out more about the "Speed is alive"-situation.

If she was honest, Rowen knew, she would be admitting to herself that she was worried. Sure it didn't take much for Ryan to have a total freak out. Her friend freaked out about a lot of things, but some things are worth freaking out over. And if a guy that everyone believed was dead suddenly wasn't dead anymore, well yeah, Rowen was pretty sure she would freak out too. Although… maybe she wouldn't, normal people would, but she wasn't exactly the definition of a normal person. So normal people would have a freak out.

She sighed, she just hoped this wouldn't slap Ryan in the face too hard.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 6

Rowen stepped inside Ryan's house, using the key hiding in the drainpipe. She stepped forward into the living room and stopped when she noticed the tell tale dark hair of one Eric Delko. Rowen blinked. Right, there was still Eric to consider. In all her worry about Ryan she'd forgotten about Eric. Ryan was her best friend, the one she cared about the most but since Eric had joined their little dysfunctional family he was one of her best friends too. She had two boys to take care off now.

She grinned widely at the thought.

"Hey Eric." She said and Eric turned his head, startled, but he relaxed slightly when he saw it was her. "Hey, Rowen, how did you get in?" "Spare key hidden underneath the drainpipe." Eric rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Ryan needs it, just to be sure. Which I don't get, he checks five times if he has his keys with him before he leaves the house." Rowen grinned and sat down next to him. "I know."

She studied him for a minute and noticed he looked pale and haggard. "Are you alright?" "Yeah… I'm just…" He hesitated. "Oh come on, you can tell me, what do you think Ryan does when he comes to see me? We complain about boys first and then I force him into telling me what's wrong and don't you think I can't force you too." Eric chuckled humourlessly. "I bet you could even force Horatio if you really tried." Rowen grinned widely. "Thank you, I consider that the biggest compliment I've ever gotten." Eric smiled. "No problem."

"So, you gonna tell me what's wrong?" "It's about Speed…" Rowen resisted the urge to roll her eyes and say: duh!

"It's just… I… When he first died I wanted him to be alive so badly, I really did. And it hurt so much that he was gone, because he was my best friend. And then I slowly got over it, I dealt with the pain and even though I still missed him everyday I could get on with my life."

"And now he's back and it… I don't know… Somehow I wish he'd just stayed dead. I mean, he's been alive all these years and yeah, he was undercover, but why the fuck didn't he at least try to let us know that he was alright? That way all the heartbreak could have been avoided. But no, he just let us tear ourselves apart in grief over him…"

"And I know I'm being irrational and I know that he couldn't have done anything off the sort and I know that there really wasn't another way… but I can't help feeling this way."

Rowen sighed and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. "Oh…honey." "So I'm honey?" Rowen chuckled. "Yeah, I can't call you sweetie, that's Ryan." Eric chuckled and buried his head in her shoulder.

"You should talk to Ryan about this. He can relate, he's scared and a bit angry himself." She squeezed him tighter. "I'm sure it'll work out in the end. You guys have a lot to work through, but this is a good thing."

"Thanks." Eric said and squeezed her back before letting go. "Now I know why Ryan goes to you so much, you're excellent in comforting people." Rowen smiled and winked. "I think you just made me remember why I became a paediatrician." Eric chuckled. Rowen softly ran her hand up and down his back. "Feel better now?" Eric nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

Rowen smiled and Eric thought that this was a woman who genuinely cared. She patted him on the back and stood up, stretching slightly. "Now, do you promise you're going to talk to Ryan about this?" And Eric nodded, knowing that you just didn't go against Rowen Descamps because she was a force to be reckoned with at all times. "I promise." She smiled again and turned around, looking as if she would leave as suddenly as she had come.

"I'll leave you to it then, Ryan might come home soon. I'll put the key back where I found it, alright?" Eric nodded, again even though she couldn't see him as her back was to him, and she left, her high heeled boots clicking on the tile, her hot pinks sunglasses covering her sharp blue eyes from sight while her fluo green jacket clashed horribly with her canary yellow top.

Eric watched her go and stared at the front door long after it had clicked shut behind her.

--------- -------- ------- ------- ------- ----- ------

Marisol Delko sighed as she got out off her cab. She'd been trying to reach Eric for hours and after that had tried Horatio's cell but he wasn't answering either. She'd decided to grab the bull by the horns and go to the crimelab, intent to confront her friend.

Her friend.

She'd been disappointed when Horatio had told her that he enjoyed her company but just wanted to be friends. She'd accepted his decision though and they'd continued being friends.

She stopped for a minute and looked up at the sky, enjoying the small breeze flying through her hair. She couldn't believe she was still standing there, still breathing, still alive. She hadn't been able to believe it when her cancer had been cleared out with the chemo treatment, even when the doctors had said there was no way she would live through it.

She'd beaten the disease and now she was alive and living…. She'd been ready to go, even with all the regrets at all the things she wouldn't be able to do and all the people she'd leave behind she had been ready to go. She'd been ready. But then she'd started getting better and she'd hardly dared to hope.

But now she was alive and it seemed like it would stay that way and for a while life had been perfect. Then Calleigh had gone crazy and that had been unexpected. Marisol hadn't really known the woman but she'd heard from everyone what a nice and sweet person the southern belle was.

But everything had worked out and Ryan was safe. She smiled broadly when she thought about the young man. So it had been him who'd brought such a change into her younger brother. He'd gone from a girl a week and that horrible Natalia to Ryan for about a whole year now, well actually about a year and a half if you didn't count that fall out they had. She was glad Eric had finally found someone.

But it seemed that peace couldn't last because something was up, Marisol was sure of it. She entered the building and walked up to the front desk. "Hello, I was wondering if I could talk to Horatio Caine please." "Marisol?"

Marisol almost jumped at the sound of the deep voice behind her and she turned, smiling. "Horatio." She shouldn't have been surprised. It seemed every time she was looking for him he just appeared out of thin air. She stepped closer to him. "Is everything alright? I've been trying to reach you."

Surprise flitted across his face and then a gentle smile erupted. "I'm… alright, Marisol, thank you for asking. It's just…" He resisted the urge to sigh and he really didn't want to tell her about Speed being alive here, not with the woman behind the front desk looking at them. "How about we go out for dinner?" He asked and Marisol nodded. "Alright."

TBC

St: can you tell I like Marisol?

Anyway, I do like the paring between Horatio and Marisol, but it's just not possible in the great scheme of things, not for this story anyway

And for those who had the misfortune of reading this chapter before I altered it, I'm sorry, but I'd already posted it before I realized what a mistake I was making.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 7

"But I thought he was your best friend?" "He is, was my best friend." Eric said, while he wrapped his arms around Ryan. They were lying on the sofa, Ryan on top of Eric with the Cuban's arms wrapped around him. "I don't understand." Ryan said, snuggling closer to Eric's warmth.

Eric sighed and buried his nose in Ryan's hair for just a minute. "I don't understand it quite myself either, but somehow… While I'm glad he's alive, I'm just so angry, the way he looked, like he didn't think it mattered at all that we had been in tears when he died. But maybe I'm just reading this wrong." Ryan sighed and looked up, bracing himself slightly on Eric's chest. "I don't think that matters at the moment, what matters is how you feel and … to deal with what you're feeling. At least, that's what I think."

Eric smiled softly and cupped Ryan's cheek with one hand. "It's just that so many things have changed and I want to explain everything to him and I don't know where to start. I told him about us when he asked me about it and I'm not sure how I would have told him otherwise. There are so many things he needs to know, so many things that he only knows half of now and I just don't…. don't know where to start."

Ryan smiled tenderly. "I understand." Eric nodded and rubbed his thumb over Ryan's cheek. "Rowen was right." Eric murmured. Ryan smiled. "Rowen's always right… or at least most of the time." Eric chuckled. "You sure are right about that." Ryan smiled and leaned down for a kiss and then moved further down Eric's throat, his lips grazing the tanned skin.

Eric moaned softly and Ryan smiled to himself, making his way down to Eric's collar bone, lightly sucking on the skin. Eric moved one of his hands away from Ryan's waist and used it to tug Ryan's head back by his hair. He then reached up and kissed his lover, his hand releasing the strands and moving into a soft caress.

Ryan whimpered slightly and Eric deepened the kiss. They parted and Ryan was panting slightly. Eric nuzzled up into Ryan's cheek and Ryan sighed contently. Eric smiled and wished that things could stay like this.

----- ----- ---- ---

"Ah! Gobshite!"

Ryan looked up and blinked. "Rowen, have you been reading the barrytown trilogy again?" Rowen grinned at him and nodded. "Yeah, I've been reading the Snapper. My personal favourite is The Commitments though." "I know you've only told me about a hundred times." She took a deep breath and said in a commentator voice: "This is Jimmy Rabbit – all over Ireland!"

And then burst out cackling.

Ryan shook his head, Rowen seemed to be the only one who still acting normal these days. Eric was tense because he was still working on Speed's case and Alexx seemed to be walking on egg shells around him. The only ones who seemed to have some semblance of normalcy were Horatio and Rowen… then again you couldn't exactly put Rowen and normal in the same category. That was just plain wrong. Then there was Sara, she was the same as usual, a little careful about what she said perhaps, but other then that she seemed the same.

Horatio had given him the day off today because Ryan had wrapped up his case yesterday and the crime had seemed to slow down these last couple of days. Rowen had of course taken full advantage and was now watching Dogma on his couch with him since they'd already seen Ice Age twice.

She turned to look at him and smiled. "So have you talked to that Speed guy yet?" Ryan shook his head. "Not yet, I'm probably going to wait after everything is settled, you know." Rowen nodded. "Yeah… I guess. Does he know about you and Eric?" Ryan nodded. "Yeah, he does, Eric told him."

"What was his reaction?" Rowen asked, her voice curious.

Ryan shrugged. "According to Eric there wasn't much of a reaction besides surprise, which isn't surprising given the fact that Eric has a sound ladies man reputation."

Rowen rolled her eyes. "A reputation doesn't mean anything." Ryan grinned. "I know, so you keep telling me."

Rowen grinned and Ryan smiled before turning back to watch the movie. He watched Bartleby shove Loki into the pillar in the garage and suddenly the screen froze. He turned to watch Rowen, who had pressed the pause button on the remote. "You see that there? Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have such huge chemistry." And Ryan rolled his eyes because honestly, she said that every time and he never bought it. "Let's just watch the movie."

She pressed the start button.

There was silence until Bartleby stabbed Loki in the side and he could hear Rowen yell: "Yeh cunt! Yis fucking eejit!" And he knew that she probably had no idea what she was yelling and he quickly grabbed the remote from her hands to insure she wouldn't throw it at the tv-screen. "You need to stop reading the barrytown trilogy." "But it's funny!" Ryan didn't comment.

Rowen turned to look at him again. "Do you actually know what you're gonna say to this Speed guy when you guys meet?" Ryan shook his head. "No, of course I don't… I mean, what would you tell the guy you're replacing."

That got him a smack on the head.

"You're not replacing him Ryan. You've made your own spot on the team and that is what counts. You're a part of that team now, Eric loves you, Horatio likes you, Alexx adores you. You're not gonna get bumped aside."

Ryan sighed. "I know that, but what…. What if Speed thinks I took his place?" Rowen blinked. "I hadn't quite thought of that." Ryan sighed and leaned back against the armrest. "You see my point?" Rowen nodded. "Yeah, I think I do." "And that's not all of it, he wasn't there when Calleigh went crazy, what if he blames me?" Ryan said and Rowen blinked again. "I hadn't thought of that either."

Ryan sighed and nodded. "I'm not quite sure anyone has thought of that yet, except for me that is." Rowen rolled her eyes. "That's because you think of everything Ryan, you wouldn't be you if you didn't." Ryan sighed and Rowen turned to watch the end credits.

"Ah crap! Now I missed that part where Ben Affleck gets his head blown off!"

Eric smiled when he heard Rowen yelling the moment he stepped inside. He'd just finalized the paper work on the Mathew David case and he'd come home to change. He'd promised Speed they'd go out for drinks to talk. He sighed and shook his head. He couldn't believe that Mathew David had been killed by his girlfriend because she'd seen him cheat on her. One of the greatest drugs suppliers in Miami got offed by his girlfriend, what a way to go.

TBC

St: if you have never read the barrytown trilogy by Roddy Doyle you really should, it's awesome and for those who've never seen Dogma, you really should because yet again it's awesome

I put them in here because I didn't want to use Ice Age again, even though I kinda did, and Dogma and the barrytown trilogy seem to me like something Rowen would like


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 8

"I want to hear the whole story." Speed said, taking a sip of his beer. Eric sighed and sipped his beer. They were sitting across from each other in a secluded booth in the back. Conversation was slow between them and Speed had finally decided to ask for the entire story. He watched his Cuban friend for a while and noticed that he shifted in his seat nervously, not entirely comfortable with the current subject.

"Well if you want the whole story, I'll have to start from the beginning I suppose." Eric said, twirling his glass on the table while Speed resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead Speed just nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He couldn't stop the small note of sarcasm that appeared in his voice.

Eric sighed again.

"When you died… well lets just say that was pretty painful. Ryan joined our team about two weeks later. He'd been the first responding officer to a scene and after a talk with Horatio he'd been hired. It wasn't easy on a lot of us, it was a bit too soon, but at the moment we didn't really have another choice. There was this thing going on with Calleigh's dad and we needed someone who was objective towards Calleigh and her dad."

"After that I was… everybody except Alexx, Horatio and Calleigh treated him like a replacement, sometimes even like he'd shot you himself. It took me a long time to get over that and even now it's sometimes still a sore subject between us. But after I got over myself… I started to fall in love with him. It just happened. Yet even though I knew what I wanted it took Rowen telling me what to do to go after what I wanted."

"Rowen.. you mentioned her before." Speed said, raising an eyebrow.

Eric nodded. "Yeah, she's the only woman, the only person I know who can throw Horatio off balance. She and Ryan have been friends since… forever. She's great, you'll probably meet her too."

Speed nodded and Eric continued with the rest of the story.

"So Ryan and I got together. We had a big fall out but we got passed that. I was willing to fight for Ryan, I love him. So all was well and good for a while and even though I'd hurt Ryan he'd forgiven me and Rowen hadn't killed me. Everything was alright, everything was… perfect I suppose. But then Ryan got kidnapped."

"I was coming home after shift when I noticed that the door was open. I found Rowen stabbed and unconscious behind the couch and Ryan was missing. I outed Ryan and I to Horatio and Calleigh that day and I convinced Horatio to let me work on the case. I processed the house along with Calleigh and we found evidence that pointed to Erica Sikes."

"When Rowen woke up Horatio went to question her in the hospital. But she couldn't really remember anything. It took me a whole day to figure out that it was Calleigh. After that we waited until she came back to work and then when she went home again after shift we followed her. She entered a house she'd apparently rented under a false name. When we got in we found her holding a gun to Ryan's head. You could see by the look on her face she was willing to shoot him."

"Horatio and I… we shot her. She died immediately. Ryan got away and he was safe. He wasn't hurt, not physically anyway. Rowen was so glad he was safe she hugged everyone of us, even Horatio. The look on his face…." Eric smiled softly. "Calleigh's… Calleigh's funeral was quiet, just her family, me, Ryan, Rowen, Alexx, Horatio and Marisol."

"Marisol?" Speed asked. "Marisol is my sister…. She used to have cancer but she was able to beat it with chemo. She and Horatio have become friends. "Eric said, yet again twirling his glad on the table top.

Speed nodded. "Why Ryan?" Eric shifted in his seat uneasily. "She wanted him."

Silence.

Speed cleared his throat. "A lot of things have happened since I left." "Yeah." Eric nodded. "Could you… show me Calleigh's grave? I'd like to say goodbye." Eric smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Even after everything she did, she used to be my friend you know, I have a lot of good memories about her and so does Ryan."

Speed nodded and then hesitated. "I'd like to meet Ryan and Rowen… I mean… well, a lot has happened and I'd like to meet them… ah hell, I don't know what I mean." Eric chuckled. "That's okay. It's necessary for you to meet Ryan and when you meet Ryan… you usually also meet Rowen, it's kind of a package deal."

They shared a small smile. "You know Speed." "What?" "Welcome back."

"Thanks, it's good to be back."

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Rowen stood at the cemetery gate and bit her lip. She wasn't entirely sure that this was the best place for the first meeting between Ryan and Speed. She could see the dark figures of Eric and Speed between the white tombstones, standing in front of Calleigh's grave. Rowen was at the gate, she'd arrived later and had decided to wait for Ryan, who'd had to finish up on paperwork. She stayed at the gate.

She had no desire to see Calleigh's grave.

She heard a car pull up and turned to see Ryan parking his car. He got out of the car and gave her a nervous half-smile while he approached. "Are they here yet?" Rowen nodded and then pointed towards the dark figures between the graves. Ryan nodded and shifted his weigh from one foot to the other.

"Are you alright?" Rowen asked, laying one hand on his shoulder. Ryan gave a humourless laugh and shook his head. "Not really, no." Rowen smiled and gently and pulled him closer for a hug. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sure it'll be alright."

"Really?" "Not really, no."

Ryan chuckled. "I love you, Rowen." "Oooh, I love you too Sweetie." They parted and turned to watch Eric and Speed.

Neither moved to meet them at Calleigh's grave.

Speed looked down at the tombstone, the words Calleigh Dusquense staring up at him and forcing him to acknowledge the ominous truth.

Calleigh was dead.

He sighed and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, at a loss of what to say. Eric stood next to him, silent. Speed could hear a car arriving behind him and he turned his head. A young woman climbed out of the cab and the cab drove off while she stood by the gate.

She was young with brown hair and she seemed rather small, but he couldn't really tell from this distance. She was wearing jeans with a bright canary yellow top with a fluo green jacket above it. She seemed to be wearing hot pink sunglasses on the top of her head, but he wasn't entirely sure, it could be a hair band.

He turned back to Calleigh's grave.

After about ten minutes he could hear another car pull up but Speed didn't turn around this time. "I think your lover just arrived." He said and Eric turned to look. The Cuban nodded. "Yeah."

Eric turned back to Calleigh's grave.

They stood there for a while longer and then they turned, walking past the row of white stones towards the black gate.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 9

They stood across from each other, Speed across from Ryan and Eric next to Speed and Rowen next to Ryan. It was awkward to say the least. Eric cleared his throat and made a brave attempt at making it a bit less awkward. "Speed, this is Ryan, Ryan this is Speed." Ryan put up a smile and held out his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you." Speed took his hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too."

They released each other's hands and Eric introduced Speed to Rowen. The young woman smiled and held out her hand, Speed took her hand in his and shook it. Rowen was grinning wildly and it struck Speed that it seemed completely natural to her.

It hadn't gone as bad as Rowen had anticipated. Yes, there were awkward silences when they sipped their drinks. And yes sometimes they didn't know what to say. But all in all, it wasn't that bad. Well, as long as they kept talking about all the different cases they'd worked.

After the visit to the cemetery they'd decided to go for drinks in a nearby bar. They were seated at a round table, Eric next to Ryan, Ryan next to Rowen, Rowen next to Speed and Speed next to Rowen. Rowen couldn't tell if Speed and Ryan hadn't sat down next to each other on purpose or not.

At the moment there was a painful lull in conversation and Rowen had no idea if her hyper attitude would solve things this time. She could feel Ryan's discomfort building every time he shifted closer to her and that discomfort was slowly turning into full blown panic. She gave Eric a look and he seemed to get the message. "Excuse us for a second, Speed." And then grabbed Ryan's arm and tagged him along. Rowen watched them disappear into the men's bathroom.

She turned to speed and flashed him a grin. "So… you're Speed huh?" The man looked at her, his gaze dark and Rowen perceived it always looked like that. "Yeah that's me." Rowen couldn't judge whether his voice was always that gruff or not. She nodded anyway. "According to Ryan you're Eric's best friend." Speed shrugged. "Whatever."

Rowen narrowed her eyes. "If you're gonna be a jerk at least be nice about it." Speed blinked at her. "You can be nice about being a jerk?" Rowen blinked back at him. "Yeah, you could at least give me a warning. Something like: Rowen, I'm gonna be a jerk now so don't take offence about anything I say or do. Or: I'm always a jerk so don't take it personally. Or: Rowen I'm gonna be a jerk and yes it's you, just so you know."

Speed gazed at her expectant gaze a little surprised and then she grinned again. "Eric didn't warn you about me did he?" Speed shook his head, chuckling slightly. "Not really, he did mention you were a fire cracker though." Rowen grinned and winked at him. "Yup, he got that right, only I'm much, much worse."

They shared a look. "So, are you gonna give Ryan a hard time? Or do I have to kick your ass?"

------ ----- --- MEANWHILE ----- ----- ---

"Just take a deep breath." Eric said, his hand on Ryan's shoulder. They were crowded into one stall together in search off a semblance of privacy. They could hear the door open and close while other men visited the urinal.

Ryan was leaning against the closed door, his head thrown back trying to breath. Eric stepped closer so they were almost chest to chest. "Are you alright?" Ryan leaned forward slightly and opened his eyes. Eric ran his thumb over Ryan's cheek and the brown eyes fluttered close again.

Eric smiled and leaned forward, capturing Ryan's lips in a soft kiss. Ryan wrapped his arms around Eric's neck, pulling him closer while tangling one of his hands in Eric's hair while the other went around the Cuban's waist. Eric stepped forward, pressing their bodies flush against each other. He swallowed Ryan's moan and pulled back slightly, feeling Ryan's hot breath on his lips.

"You alright baby?" Eric whispered, grasping Ryan's hand in his and weaving their fingers together. Ryan nodded and gave Eric a small smile. Eric smiled back and snuck a hand underneath Ryan's shirt, caressing the smooth skin and Ryan arched into him, making a small whimper. Eric smiled smugly and pulled his hand back. He leaned forward, his mouth right next to Ryan's ear and he could feel his lover shiver against him. "As soon as we got home baby, I'm going to pin you down on the bed and you're not going to be able to sit normal for days." His voice was a husky whisper and Ryan shivered again.

The young man whimpered and Eric nipped at the young man's earlobe. He made his way down to Ryan's throat, sucking fiercely on the sensitive skin. Ryan whimpered again, biting his lip to kip himself from moaning out loud. Eric pulled back, satisfied and gave Ryan a smile. "I love you." Ryan smiled back. "I love you too." Eric pulled Ryan close, squeezing him tight. Then he pulled Ryan with him out of the cubical, ignoring the scandalized look an older man threw them.

When they made their way back to the table Eric took Ryan's hand and squeezed it. He could feel Ryan squeeze back.

Rowen waved at them and Eric smiled. It had been a good idea, taking the young woman with them. He approached the table, still holding Ryan's hand and didn't release it when he sat down, pulling Ryan down next to him. Rowen was grinning wildly and Eric knew what she thought they'd done in the bathroom.

He grinned back.

Speed watched them interact with an amused expression on his face, smirking when he noticed the shade of red Ryan turned when he noticed his lover and his best friend grinning at each other. He turned to Rowen and she winked at him, still grinning wildly and then she started laughing. Eric started laughing too and Ryan released an embarrassed groan.

Rowen smiled at Speed, really it hadn't gone as bad as she'd anticipated.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 10

Speed sighed as he closed the door behind him. He'd just met Ryan and Rowen and he knew Eric had been right, Rowen was an odd one. He threw his jacket over a chair and flopped down on the couch. He still couldn't believe Eric was gay though, he'd always been the notorious ladies man. How could Eric be gay?

He'd thought that if he met Ryan, found out what for kind off guy Ryan was he'd get things in perspective. But really, he'd been wrong, everything was still as confusing and unsure as before. Maybe even more.

And Eric was really gay?

And what was that with Calleigh? Had she really gone crazy just because Ryan hadn't been romantically interested in her? She was dead now, because she'd held a gun next to Ryan's head and threatened to shoot him. He wondered.

He'd missed her during the year he'd been gone, had missed all of them really. He'd missed Horatio's quiet reassurance. He'd missed Eric's friendly banter. He'd missed Calleigh's bright smile. He'd missed Alexx' mothering nature. And now…. Calleigh was dead. A part of him had refused to believe it, but now he'd seen her grave. Of course, in his case that really didn't mean anything, but Eric and Horatio had shot her.

And then there was Alexx, from what he'd heard it seemed that Alexx was mothering Ryan too, just the way she used to mother him. What? Did that mean he wasn't her baby anymore?

He sighed and relaxed further into the couch. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. Yeah, he hadn't really believed that when he came back he'd find that everything was still the same as he had left, but he just couldn't believe so many things had changed.

He wanted his job back, wanted his life back but now all of a sudden he wasn't sure that it could actually happen. Would Horatio be able to hire him? Would Eric be able to tear himself away from Ryan to have drinks with him after work as they used to? Would Eric want Ryan to tag along?

Was it possible that he couldn't get his life back because of Ryan Wolfe?

----- ----- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---

Horatio closed the file and slid it on top of a pile. He was finally done with all the paper work and he sat back in his chair for a minute. He knew Ryan and Speed had met the other day and according to Alexx who got her information from both Speed and Ryan it had gone pretty well. Speed didn't really know what to think about the relationship between Ryan and Eric and Ryan didn't really know what to think about Speed. But at least they didn't hate each other, that was certainly something they could do without.

Horatio looked up at a knock coming from the open doorway and saw Rowen leaning against the doorpost she'd knocked on. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" He nodded. "Sure." She smiled and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

Horatio and Rowen hadn't really talked to each other since Ryan got kidnapped, she'd talked to him after the funeral and called him to make sure he told Ryan that Ryan was a part of the team, but besides that they hadn't really talked.

She walked up to his desk and sat down in one of the chairs in front off it. She crossed her legs and then shifted around a bit, as if not as ease. He raised an eyebrow at her and she raised one back at him, for a minute he was reminded off when they first met in the hospital. She wiggled in her seat a bit more before settling down completely and flashing him a smile.

"So, how are you?" He was surprised at her attempt at small talk, he'd known Rowen to take the horn by the bulls and dive right in. To him it was one of the many reasons why Rowen and Ryan got along so well. "I'm alright thank you, how are you?" She grinned broadly. "I'm fine thank you… I was just wondering."

She paused at that, giving him a look and he realized that if he ever wanted to find out why she'd stepped inside his office he was going to have to play the game. "You were wondering?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her and not able to suppress the amused smile spreading across his face when once again she raised her own eyebrow back at him.

"I was wondering if you were planning on giving Speed his job back?" He leaned a bit forward in his chair. "Why?" "I was just wondering, I need to be prepared if you decide to boot Ryan off the team." Her grin had disappeared and she looked him straight in the eye, as if daring him to say that he was going to get rid of Ryan to get Speed back.

He shook his head slightly. "I don't know yet if I'll be able to hire Speed, because I'm certainly not going to hire them if there isn't any room. I wasn't lying when I told Ryan that he was part of the team." Rowen nodded and smirked. Horatio narrowed his eyes slightly. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Rowen nodded. "Yeah, I did, I was just checking, lieutenant." She rose from her seat and smiled at him. "I should be going." Horatio rose too and she raised an eyebrow at him. He couldn't resist and raised one back at her. Rowen grinned. "Walk me to my cab?" Rowen asked, her grin turning into a smile. Horatio nodded. "Alright."

----- ---- ----- ----

"You asked Horatio to walk to your car?" Ryan asked, his eyes wide. They were sitting on Ryan's couch, each with a box of ice cream in their lap, Rowen's coffee standing on the small coffee table. Ryan raised an eyebrow at her and Rowen rolled her eyes. "What?"

Ryan gave her a look and Rowen glared at him. "Rowen, you're not… you're not into him are you?" Rowen shifted in her seat. "No." Ryan gave her another look and she just ignored him, turning back to watch the TV. "Rowen, tell me you're not interested in H."

"I'm not interested in Horatio, even if that red hair is really hot." Ryan cringed. "I did not need to know that." "Oh, come on Ryan, don't tell me you don't find that red hair attractive?" "A bit maybe… but this isn't about me!"

Rowen rolled her eyes again and traded her ice cream with her coffee. "Listen, I just think his red hair is hot, that's all. I'm not romantically interested in him. Speed on the other hand…" She trailed off and Ryan's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Rowen burst out laughing. "I'm joking! I'm joking!"

Ryan gave her a suspicious look but then decided to let it go. If Rowen really was interested in someone, she'd tell him. He turned back to the TV where images off Stiff Upperlip were flashing by. He sighed and turned to watch his friend again. She noticed him looking again and gave him a look. "Ryan, what are you trying to read my mind or something?"

"Who in the world would want to read your mind?" A voice called from the doorway and Eric appeared, grinning broadly and Rowen grinned back. She winked at the Cuban and hopped over the back of the couch. "Well, I'm gonna go, I wouldn't want to get in the way if Eric decides to pin you to the couch and have his wicked way with you, Ryan."

Ryan glared at her and she merely grinned before making her way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She hollered before closing the door behind her. She grinned to herself.

It seemed like everything was going alright.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 11

Speed sipped his beer and resisted the urge to slam it down onto the bar. It was the second time this week Eric had said no to drinks because he'd had something planned with Ryan. Ryan, he was slowly but surely beginning to resent the younger man. Sure, Eric had declined Speed's offers to go out for drinks because he had a date before. But this was different. Ryan was another man, another guy. It was different.

He clenched the beer bottle in his hands and sneered at himself for ever thinking that he and Ryan could become friends. He glared at his beer. How could Eric just shove him aside like that? Didn't he matter anymore? And why was he with Ryan anyway? Because of him Calleigh was dead and Speed really didn't care that he wasn't thinking clearly anymore.

It was ridiculous the way Eric seemed to glow when Ryan was mentioned. It was ridiculous.

It was ridiculous.

He sighed again, because it wasn't ridiculous, not really. Eric had found someone to be happy with, it was normal Eric would want to spend time with Ryan. He just couldn't stand it that everything had changed so much. Calleigh was dead, dead! And Eric… Speed sighed again.

When he was undercover the only thing that really kept him going was the thought that he could get his life back when it was all over. And now it was all over and yes, his target had been killed by his girlfriend so his two years off undercover had actually gone to waste, and all he wanted was his life back, but … he hadn't taken into account that his life might not be waiting for him.

He hadn't taken into account that the others would move on.

Yes, he had known that things would change, but he hadn't taken into account that they all thought he was dead. Because he'd always known he was coming back and in the back of his mind he'd believed that his friends thought the same. And now everything was such a huge mess. And after his second drink he'd found it was much easier to blame Ryan for all his problems. But he couldn't get away with that, he knew.

He'd talked to Alexx about it and she'd given him a look and he'd looked down at his shoes. He could still hear her words.

"Baby, I love you. But you have no idea how hard Ryan had to fight to get accepted here. You can't stand in the way of that now. And he's my baby now too, so I'm just going to tell you the way it is. Ryan's not to blame, if you want to blame someone, blame the feds, that's what they're for."

And he knew she was right, but he couldn't help but wish that Ryan Wolfe had never come to the Miami Dade Crimelab.

--- ------ ----- ----- ---- ----- --- --- ---

Ryan sighed as he pulled back from the microscope, finally the case was solved and the only thing they had to do was process the evidence so that they would have enough to hold in court. He'd finished processing the evidence and he was glad he could go home.

Strong arms wrapped around him from behind and soft lips descended on his neck. Ryan gasped and almost pulled away, almost.

"Eric!" "Yes Ryan?"

Ryan swallowed a moan when Eric sucked on his neck. "W-We can't do this here. This building has glass walls you know." He could feel Eric's smirk on his skin. "I know." He pulled away then and glared at his lover, who simply grinned. Ryan sighed and started cleaning up quickly, feeling the burning gaze of the Latino on his back.

He turned around and almost yelped. Eric was standing so close he could feel the Cuban's hot breath against his skin. He shivered slightly and Eric wrapped an arm around his waist. His lips descended on Ryan's and all the younger man could do was kiss back. He opened his mouth in invitation and a hot, probing tongue slid inside.

He moaned and arched into his lover, who pulled back and chuckled. "Why don't we get out of here?" Ryan nodded and Eric helped him out of his lab coat, well if you could call that helping anyway. They made their way to the car with Eric's arm wrapped around Ryan securely and Ryan couldn't help but wonder why Eric was being so possessive.

Yes, Eric was possessive on a regular basis. But he was never so aggressive or possessive in public, or at least not at work. They didn't hide it from anyone, but they didn't display it openly, trying to maintain an air of professionalism.

Eric watched his lover get in the car, watching Ryan's every move with a hungry gaze. He'd been keeping himself in check the entire day but not anymore. He'd really wanted to get Ryan on the very first available surface but he knew his lover would object to being taken against one of the many glass walls.

So he'd just have to get Ryan home as soon as possible and pray that Rowen didn't stop by.

As soon as they parked in front of their house he pushed Ryan out of the car and into the house and when the door closed behind them Ryan found himself pinned against it. He could feel Eric tearing at his clothes and he could feel layer after layer falling away from his body. He started to push against Eric's clothes, the Cuban's desire spurring him on.

He could feel a demanding hardness against his hip and he moaned at the thought of Eric inside of him. And then Eric was there, pressing against his entrance and Ryan could only wonder where the lube had come from for a second before Eric was inside and he let loose a breathy cry.

Eric started to thrust, trying to get in deeper, wanting to bury himself in the warm and plaint body. Ryan's legs were wrapped around his waist while he had Ryan up against the wall. He saw Ryan throw his head back and moan and he loved the way his lover looked so wanton. The younger man's soft skin was flushed a lovely pink, his entire body arching up into Eric, searching for release and lost in pleasure.

And Eric knew it wasn't going to last long because he could already feel the tell tale tingle up his spine, could already feel Ryan's tightening up and he knew it would be over soon. And Ryan opened his eyes, brown and glazed over and Eric kissed him, his mouth plundering Ryan's. And Ryan moaned and arched against him and Eric was lost when he felt Ryan clamping down on him. He leaned his forehead against Ryan's pale shoulder as he rode out his climax, feeling Ryan's body relax completely as he too was lost in the afterglow of their orgasm.

They stayed that way for a while, catching their breath and seeping in the warmth of each other's bodies. Finally Ryan found his balance and lowered his legs from around Eric's waist. Eric stepped back, flashing Ryan a shit-eating smirk and Ryan can't help but roll his eyes.

Next thing he knew Eric had his arms around, kissing him gently and he kissed back, gently.

TBC

St: Oy, that didn't really end the way I wanted it too.

Anyway, the story is going a bit downhill, I've wondered a bit off the path I mapped out for this part. So, I'm working quickly on getting it back on track and pulling more Ryan and Eric into this.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 12

"Are you serious?" Speed asked, staring at Horatio. The older man nodded, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "But how?" Speed asked and Horatio really smiled this time. "I just pulled a few strings." Speed at his once again boss. "I can't believe it." He said, falling back in his chair.

He was currently in Horatio's office, being informed that Horatio had pulled a few strings and had gotten him his job back. He really, couldn't believe it. "When do I start?" He asked, his voice still a mixture of disbelief and surprise. "Tomorrow morning, bright and early." Horatio said, a smile on his face and Speed couldn't help but smile back.

He rose to his feet and shook Horatio's hand. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow and… Thanks" Horatio nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, Speed." Speed left the office, looking around in the new lab and stopping to chat with some of the lab employees he'd known two years ago. He was greeted with enthusiasm and a lot of people welcomed him back happily.

And for the first time in a long while he felt like things were finally looking up. He passed by the trace lab and he could see Ryan working on some evidence through the glass walls. He opened the door and stepped inside. "Hey." Ryan jumped and turned around, relaxing slightly when he saw Tim.

"Oh, hey. I heard you got your job back, congratulations." Ryan said, giving him a careful smile and Speed shrugged. "Thanks." "So when are you starting?" Ryan asked, turning back to his evidence. "Tomorrow morning." "That's great." Ryan said, looking up and giving him another smile. Speed nodded and turned around. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." "See you tomorrow." Ryan said.

Speed continued through the lab and ended up in the locker room. He stepped passed the door, wondering when he could get a locker. "Hey." Speed jumped slightly at the voice and turned to look at Eric Delko, who was grinning widely. "Hey, man." Speed said, trying to imagine that his voice wasn't shaking with surprise.

"So I heard you got your job back." Eric said, smiling. Speed nodded. "Yeah. What a relief. I used to say that it was nothing more but a paycheck, but when I was undercover I understood just how much this place meant to me. I mean, it's still a paycheck, but I can't really see myself doing anything else."

Eric nodded, opening his locker and depositing his bag inside. "I hear you. I mean, I used to want to be a swimmer, I was this close to making it on the Olympic team. But now, when I look back, I think I'm much happier this way. I love being a CSI, even though it's not really the dream profession."

Speed leaned against the locker next to Eric's. "Yeah, it might not be a dream job, but it's highly satisfactory. There is nothing better then the feeling you get when you find that one piece of evidence and nail the guy." Eric grinned. "Well I can think of one better feeling."

Speed rolled his eyes and thumped Eric on the arm. "Sex doesn't count man." They laughed.

"Hey man, how about we go out for drinks, you know to celebrate." Speed asked. But Eric shook his head. "Sorry man, promised Ryan I'd go out for coffee with him, some other time maybe?" Speed rolled his eyes. "Figures. Sure some other time."

He turned around and was about to walk away but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "What is that supposed to mean?" Eric's voice asked him and Speed turned around. "Nothing, we'll have drinks next time." Eric's gaze darkened. "That's not what I meant and you know it. What do you mean with 'Figures.'?"

Speed shifted uneasily. "It's just that you and Ryan spend a lot of time together." Eric rolled his eyes. "Of course man, we're a couple, it's the kind of stuff that couples do. But I used to decline drinks before because I had a date. So what's the problem?"

Speed rolled his eyes. "You're telling me this is the same thing as all the other times? Come on, Delko." Eric's eyes bored into Speed's. "Of course it's the same thing like all the other times. What do you think is different?" "I don't know, It's Ryan man… I mean."

"You mean, Ryan's a guy, right?" Eric asked, his voice tight and Speed resisted the urge to roll his eyes, he was about to say something but Eric beat him to it. "Does it bother you that Ryan and I are together? Does the fact that I'm with a guy bother you?" Speed shook his head. "No."

Eric frowned. "Then what is it? You just don't like Ryan, is that it?" Speed shook his head again. "No." "Then what is it Speed?"

"I don't know, okay!"

"No! It's not okay. What is your problem Speed?"

"Ryan's my problem."

Eric glared at him. "Obviously, but you can't even tell me why." Speed sputtered, trying to think of something to say and finally came up short. Eric clenched his jaw and pushed passed Speed and before Speed knew what he was doing he pushed back and he had Eric pinned against a locker.

His eyes met Eric's shocked ones for a minute before he fused his lips on top off the other man.

Neither of them noticed the door opening and the gasp splitting through the air before the door was hurriedly closed again.

Eric pushed Speed away, breathing hard and staring at his friend, who was staring back at him and seemed just as shocked as he was. Eric worked on getting his breathing under control and finally asked: "What the hell was that?" Speed's breathing had calmed down as well. "I don't know."

Eric frowned. "Bull shit!" Speed frowned too. "No! Seriously, I had no idea… I didn't… God! This is so messed up." Speed racked a hand through his hair, directing his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry… I-I need to think."

And Speed fled from the locker room, not even noticing when he bumped into a flushed and nervous looking Sarah.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 13

Sarah bit her lip as she watched Speed leave. She blushed beat red when she remembered the way she'd seen the dark haired man press Eric against the locker and kiss him. She bit her lip. She wasn't that shy, normally, not about kissing and stuff like that, but she'd known for a fact that Ryan and Eric were a couple and … now Eric was kissing Speed?

She could hear footsteps coming from the other side of the door to the locker room and she quickly made her way to the ballistic lab. She really didn't want to talk to Eric. The ballistic lab was her sanctuary, there weren't a lot of people who came by the ballistic lab when there weren't any guns involved in the case and she knew she'd be alone in there. She closed the door behind her and sat down at her desk.

She bit her lip as she leaned back in her seat. She'd seen Eric Delko, one of her respected colleagues and who was supposed to be in a serious relationship with Ryan Wolfe, another one of her respected colleagues, kissing Timothy Speedle. And according to DC, Timothy, or Speed as everybody seemed to call him, came back from the dead a few weeks ago and was starting his job at the crime lab again the next day.

She sighed and looked down at her tabletop. Should she tell Ryan about what she saw? She bit her lip again and then switched to chewing on her nail. She though Ryan should know, but… but what if it was just a one time mistake? She didn't want to be responsible for ruining a perfectly good relationship. But then again… Ryan deserved to know and Ryan was her friend, sort off and she didn't want to lie to him by not saying anything.

If she didn't say anything it was possible that nothing would chance and everything would be alright. Of course it could be possible that Eric might start or have an affair behind Ryan's back, then again he didn't struck her as someone who would do that. On the other hand if she did say something it could hurt a perfectly good relationship and it could endanger her position in the lab. She didn't want to be known as a snitch or something.

And there was always the possibility that Eric would tell Ryan what had happened. But there was also the possibility he didn't tell Ryan.

She sighed and leaned back so her chair was only standing on two feet, her own feet propped on the desk. She looked up at the ceiling and frowned in thought. If someone had seen her boyfriend kiss someone else, she'd want to know. She sighed and pulled her feet away from the desk, putting the chair back on four feet. It looked like she was going to pay a visit to the trace lab.

Her heels clicked on the tiles and she knocked on the glass door of the trace lab, plastering a fake smile on her face. Ryan looked up and smiled, waving at her to come in. She nodded and opened the door, stepping inside. "Hey, Ryan." Ryan smiled at her and nodded. "Hey Sarah."

She approached the table top where Ryan was working and slid into one of the stools. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute." Ryan looked up and smiled again. "Sure, go ahead." He put aside his evidence and slid into the stool next to her. Sarah looked around for a minute, you could never be sure when you were in a building with glass walls.

"Eum… I…." Sarah bit her lip, she could still back out of this. Ryan frowned slightly and leaned forward a bit, obviously concerned. "What is it?"

"I think I saw…"

Ryan raised an eyebrow at her in question and she bit her lip harder.

"I think I saw Speed kiss Eric."

The words left her mouth in a rush and she'd thought she could have been a bit more gentle, but really how did you tell someone you saw their boyfriend kissing someone else?

Ryan stared at her, his eyes wide. He seemed stunned for a minute, his eyes staring at her unbelievingly and she released her bottom lip. Ryan took a deep breath and closed his eyes, when he opened them again his face adopted a carefully blank expression. "Are you sure?" For all his efforts to look calm and collected his voice cracked on the last word and Sarah pretended not to notice. "Yeah…. I-I think so, yeah." Sarah said, resting her hand on his arm. "Are you alright?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine…. I-I have to go." He shrugged out of his lab coat and without bothering to put away his evidence he almost ran from the room. Sarah watched him go and bit her lip again, she wondered if she'd done the right thing. Holding back a sigh she started cleaning up Ryan's evidence, thinking that it was the least she could do for him.

Ryan quickly paced through the hallway, not sure what to do. He wanted to see Rowen, but wasn't sure if she was free and if he could just leave again. He came to the front desk and thanked his lucky stars when he saw Rowen talking to Horatio in front of the elevator.

He thought about why she was there and talking Horatio only for a split second before moving forward. "Hey, Ryan." Rowen noticed him immediately and smiled brightly, only noticing his blank stare after she turned to him completely. "Hey, Rowen, H. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I was wondering if I could talk to Rowen for a minute."

Rowen smiled a little les bright and nodded. "Yeah, sure." She turned to Horatio. "Lieutenant, I'll see you tomorrow then." Rowen and Horatio shared a smile and when the elevator opened Rowen grabbed Ryan's arm and pulled him inside.

They rode the elevator down and Ryan didn't say anything. Rowen turned to look at her friend. "Ryan, are you alright?" Ryan shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, already feeling his body tremble with suppressed tears. "What happened?" Rowen asked, her voice curious and soft. Ryan sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't want to tell me?"

Ryan shook his head. "I just…" He took a shuddering breath and suddenly Rowen's arms came up around his shoulders and turned him around. He found himself in Rowen's embrace, the small woman squeezing him tightly. "Sweetie, what's going on?"

And Ryan almost dissolved into sobs. "Nothing, I just needed a hug." "You don't need a hug for nothing, dude." Was the quiet remark and Ryan had to laugh, but his laugh sounded fake and hollow even to his own ears. Rowen pulled back. "Ryan?" She looked him in the eyes, her own eyes dark and searching.

Ryan pulled away, he didn't want to tell her. If she knew, she'd go out for Eric's blood, he knew that. "It's just…. It was just a hard case." God, he hadn't lied to her in years. Rowen looked sceptic. "Just a hard case? Are you sure?" Ryan nodded. "Yeah, guy steps out of the proverbial closet and tells his girlfriend he's breaking up with her because he's gay. Girl shoots him."

He deliberately picked something that resembled the situation they had back in collage and her eyes widened and she pulled him in for a hug again. "Oh, sweetie." He squeezed her tighter and tried to shove back the guilt he felt for lying to her.

But he needed a sympathetic ear and he didn't want her stewing in her anger so she'd go after Eric in the end. He held her close to him, and he could feel a few tears leaking through his eyelids and he really, really wanted to be alone. They arrive at the bottom floor. He pulled away.

"Rowen, could you… could you tell Horatio I had to go?"

And he knew he shouldn't have asked the question, because now she would start digging again, because there was no way Ryan would go if it was just a difficult case. Well, unless if he was ordered to go home by Horatio, which obviously wasn't the case. Besides when she told Horatio about the case, as she no doubt would, Horatio would tell her Ryan hadn't been working on such a case and then she'd know something was up.

And Rowen knowing something was up was way worse then Rowen thinking something was up. Because if she thought something was up she'd go looking for proof she was right or she'd try to get confirmation. If she knew something was up, she'd rant and rave and do something about it. Or do something to it.

"Ryan, are you sure you're okay?"

And for a minute it all threatened to spill out when he was faced with the concern in her face and dear God, he'd just lied to her. But he just nodded his head and almost ran for his car, knowing that Rowen's eyes followed him the whole way.

It was only when he arrived at his home, their home, home that he clearly understood what Sarah had told him.

Speed kissed Eric.

Eric kissed Speed.

Speed and Eric kissed.

Eric and Speed kissed.

Eric and Speed had been kissing.

Speed and Eric had been kissing.

There were over a hundred ways to put it, but it only gave him one meaning and he wasn't even sure what that meaning was. Everything was spiralling out of control. Taking a deep breath he got out of the car and headed to the house.

He stood in the hallway for a minute, in a daze and chided himself, it was just a kiss. Just a kiss. If it was just a kiss then why did it hurt so much? He collapsed and crawled underneath the sheets. Everything was just spiralling out of control.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---

Rowen watched Ryan leave with worried eyes and toyed with the idea of following him. Sighing she got into the elevator and rode it upwards. She had to tell Horatio Ryan had gone home because… because of a difficult case. She snorted as she stepped out of the elevator and made her way to Horatio's office, almost running into Sarah in the process.

"Oh, Sarah, hey, I'm sorry." Rowen said, bending through her knees to help Sarah pick up the case file she'd dropped. "It's alright. It's my fault too, I should have been looking where I was going." Sarah said, gathering her papers and standing up again. The woman seemed to hesitate for a while but then nodded to herself. "Hey, Rowen, have you seen Ryan?"

Rowen blinked and nodded then, smiling softly. "Yeah, he sure is in a terrible state." "Yeah, I would be too if something like that had happened to me."

Rowen resisted the urge to raise her eyebrow because she knew for a fact Ryan would never, ever tell anyone about what had transpired between them years ago. Ryan's fear of hurting and losing Rowen, the best friend he'd ever had and then how they came out stronger together, because Rowen could deal with it.

And that only confirmed Rowen's thoughts of Ryan lying and maybe Sarah knew something more about the situation. "Yeah, it's terrible, I hope he can work through it." Rowen said, carefully choosing her words. Sarah smiled nervously and nodded. "Yeah, but he has you so I'm sure he'll be fine." Rowen nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there for him."

"I still wish I hadn't been the one to tell him." Sarah said, looking at the ground and Rowen's curiosity spiked through the roof. "Yeah, it must have been hard on you." Rowen said, easily turning the conversation the way she wanted it to go. Sarah shrugged. "Well yeah, it's never easy to tell someone you saw their boyfriend kiss someone else. I mean I was shocked when I saw Eric and Speed…but it has to be even harder hearing about it."

Rowen nodded. "Yeah." Sarah shifted uneasily. "Well, I'd better get going." And the girl was off. Rowen watched her go, anger sharpening her gaze and her fists clenched together.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own, except for the plot and Rowen, of course

Chapter 14

Rowen watched Sarah disappear around the corner and into the direction of the labs. Her breathing was uneven and her hands were shaking. She swallowed, trying to cool down. She tried to think rationally, even though that certainly wasn't one of her strong points.

That was the way Horatio found her, shaking like a leaf and trying to stay in one piece yet anger written in ever rigid line of her body. He laid a hand on her shoulder and she jumped a mile high. "Oh, Horatio." She said, her hands still shaking and she clasped them together so strongly her knuckles were turning white. "Rowen." He looked her up and down and noticed the clenched jaw, the anger burning in her eyes.

He took one of her arms and gently steered her to his office, away from the prying eyes of the gossip mil. For a minute Horatio wondered if Natalia had made sure the labs were made of glass walls so she could eavesdrop on conversations easier. But he quickly pushed that aside, because Natalia being the mole was something everyone was still dealing with.

He closed the door behind them, glad that his office wasn't made of glass walls. "Rowen, what's wrong?" She leaned against his desk, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Eric kissed Speed." The words were soft yet unbelievably sharp in the silent air and Horatio stumbled for a minute. "I-euh-What?"

She looked outside, her jaw clenched. "Apparently, Sarah saw Eric and Speed kissing and told Ryan." "That's why Ryan looked so… out of it when he joined us at the elevator." Horatio said, frowning slightly. Rowen nodded. "Yeah, he told me he was upset because of a case, I only found out because I ran into Sarah and she told me."

Horatio resisted the urge to sigh. "I assume Ryan has gone home." Rowen nodded, still looking out the window. Horatio approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. He could feel her tense muscles relax slightly underneath his hand and the fabric of her shirt. "You're not going to kill Eric are you?" She glared at him and then shook her head, her gaze softening into an apologetic expression. He shook his head and smiled. Rowen sighed.

"No matter how much I'd like that, Ryan hasn't told me about it yet. If Ryan had told me about it I would have been able to do something, anything. When he tells me something he's aware of the dangers involving my behaviour. When Ryan doesn't tell me something it's obvious he either wants to solve it on his own and tell me about it later. Or he's going to keep it bottled up inside until I drag out of him."

Horatio nodded, his hand not leaving her shoulder.

"I see."

Rowen sighed and rubbed her temple tiredly. "I don't even know precisely what happened and that's the most annoying thing of all. I don't know for certain what happened." Horatio stayed silent, knowing that she'd most probably snap at him if he tried to offer her help without her asking for it. Rowen wanted to solve things on her own first. His hand slipped from her shoulder to gently squeeze her upper arm.

"Maybe I should talk to Speed." It was a mixture of a statement and a question and Horatio nodded. "Maybe."

"Maybe I should cool down first and think rationally." Rowen said. She turned to look at him and Horatio raised an eyebrow at her. "You're going to think rationally?" He asked, his voice had a playful note in it and Rowen smiled half heartedly. "It's your fault, you're rubbing off on me."

Horatio laughed and Rowen smiled.

---- ---- ------ ---

Eric stared at the door off his locker with bleary eyes. Everything was just so messed up lately. Speed turning up alive, Speed kissing him, it just didn't make any sense anymore. He sighed and leaned back against the row of lockers behind him, taking a deep breath, calming himself down. He grabbed his bag and headed out.

He'd worked over time and it was late, just a little before midnight and he was so tired. He knew Ryan had already clocked out and he couldn't wait until he came home. His lover would be able to calm his troubled mind and make him forget about Speed. Because that was what was going to happen, Eric was going to forget it ever happened. He wouldn't talk to Speed about it, wouldn't tell Ryan about it, wouldn't tell anyone about it and he'd just forget it ever happened. And if that meant Speed and he couldn't be friends anymore, well then that was that.

He sighed when he closed the front door behind him. He frowned however when he noticed how dark the house was. He checked in every room downstairs and there wasn't a sign of Ryan, for a minute panic assaulted because he could vividly remember the last time something had been off when Ryan had been home alone.

But he shook off the feeling, because he hadn't checked all the rooms yet and it was probable that Ryan had gone to bed, most likely in fact. So he climbed the stairs and made his way into their bedroom. He smiled when he noticed the small figure in the big bed and quickly took of his clothes, slipping underneath the covers and spooning up behind his lover.

He buried his nose in Ryan's soft hair and inhaled deeply, a feeling of calm and belonging invading his senses. He could feel Ryan shift and he pulled back, letting his hand dance across the skin of Ryan's upper arm. The young man shivered and suddenly tensed, pulling away from Eric. The Cuban frowned. "Ryan?"

Ryan stared at the wall in front of him and forced himself to relax. He turned around and smiled softly at his lover. "Eric." His hand came up to cup the Cuban's cheek and Eric smiled. Ryan's thumb stroked over Eric's cheekbones, going lower until he stroked Eric's bottom lip. Ryan swallowed and resisted the urge to turn away, Eric didn't know that Ryan knew.

Eric brought his head down and their lips met, Ryan's hand sliding over Eric's skin onto his shoulder and griping it tightly. Eric pulled back and buried his head in Ryan's throat, covering the young man's body partially with his own. Ryan stared up at the ceiling, one hand stroking Eric's hair. He'd never felt so lost.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 15

Eric frowned as he watched his lover sitting at the kitchen table. Ryan hadn't said a word since Eric had come home last night and it frightened him just a little. For a minute he wondered if Ryan knew about him and Speed… but that was impossible, how could Ryan know? They'd been in the locker room, no one had seen them.

Ryan stood and turned to put his plate in the sink and Eric came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Ryan's waist and moulding his body to that of his lover's. Ryan tensed and then made an obvious effort to relax. Eric rested his head on Ryan's shoulder.

"Ryan?"

"Yes?"

Eric bit his lip and pulled away, grabbing Ryan's arm and turning him around so they were face to face. He tried to make eye-contact but Ryan ducked away from his gaze every time. "Ryan, is something wrong?" Ryan seemed to freeze. The young man took a deep breath and then shook his head. "No, nothing is wrong."

Eric grasped Ryan's chin and lifted it up so their eyes met. "Ryan, what's wrong?" The young man bit his lip and tried to re-direct his gaze but Eric wouldn't let him. "Baby…"

_Baby _

Ryan could feel it, the tears building behind his eyelids and he tried to pull away but Eric pulled him closer. They were standing chest to chest and Ryan cracked. He collapsed into Eric's arms and started sobbing and even though he really didn't want Eric to see him like this he couldn't pull away.

"Ryan, baby, what's wrong?" Eric asked, stroking Ryan's back gently. And Ryan couldn't take it anymore. The young man pushed Eric away, causing the Cuban to stumble slightly. "Ryan?"

Ryan looked up and whipped his tears away angrily. "I know you and Speed kissed." The words cut through Eric like a knife and he could only watch as Ryan pushed past him and left the house, slamming the door behind him.

--- ---- --- ---- ----

Speed arrived at the crime scene that afternoon and couldn't believe how good it felt to be able to say. "I'm with the Miami Dade Crimelab." He nodded to one of the patrol officers and slipped underneath the yellow tape. He froze in his steps though when he saw Ryan squatted down next to the body, talking to Alexx.

He took a deep breath and continued walking. Eric's panicked phone call this morning had warned him that Ryan knew what had happened in the locker room. Speed still didn't know what to think off it himself and he'd initiated it. He just hoped that Ryan would be professional, even though he knew he probably deserved it if Ryan decided to punch him square in the face.

He just hoped Ryan hadn't told Alexx or he'd be in for a world of pain.

"Hey. What do we have?" Speed asked, stopping behind Ryan. The young man rose and pointed at the body. "D.B., we don't know who he is yet." Alexx nodded and smiled. "For the moment I'd say he was killed by the gunshot, but I'll give it a further look in the morgue." Speed nodded.

They worked the case, only talking to each other when needed and the case got solved and they didn't bump heads, not much anyway.

Speed sighed as he closed his locker; he just wanted to go home and figure everything out and make everything right. He looked up at the sound of someone slamming the door and his eyes met Eric's. The Cuban didn't look happy and he brushed past Speed, opening his own locker.

Speed turned to face him. "Hey, Eric." "Yeah?" The Cuban's voice was dark with an angry edge and Speed had no idea of what he was going to say. The door opened again and both men looked up.

Ryan stood in the doorway, looking from Speed to Eric and back again. With a carefully blank expression the young man turned around and disappeared. Eric swore and went after him. Speed watched him go.

Eric quickly ran after his lover but it seemed like Ryan had disappeared and the only one he ran into was Rowen, who seemed to be in deep conversation which Horatio.

She saw him and their gaze met. Her eyes hardened and he was reminded of the time she'd slapped him across the cheek when he'd broken it off with Ryan. He avoided her gaze and kept walking, knowing that if he managed to get Ryan back he'd still have a lot of explaining to do.

Horatio watched Rowen meet Eric's gaze and took her elbow when she moved to go after the Cuban. "Don't." She glared at him, but he just stared back at her. "Remember what you said about rational thinking?" He asked gently. Her gaze softened and she looked away, in the direction Eric had gone off to. "I remember."

She turned back to look at him, her head cocked to the side and he smiled. She smiled back. "Just don't think that's going to stop me from doing something." Horatio chuckled. "I wouldn't dream off it." Rowen grinned.

Eric intercepted Ryan in the parking lot. The young man was about to open the door and Eric quickly slammed it back shut, catching Ryan by surprise. The young man glared at the Hispanic man, trying to get him to back off. "Leave me alone, Eric."

"Ryan, you have to let me try and explain, please." Eric pleaded. Ryan turned away from him and pulled at the door handle, knowing that he wouldn't get it open with Eric's weight leaning on it anyway. "Ryan, we live together, we have a home together. I love you more then anything. Thank to you I'm part of the craziest family I've ever met, but I wouldn't have you and Rowen any other way. Do you really think I'd give up all of that just because a friend of mine came back from the dead?"

Ryan looked the other way, frowning to himself. "Maybe Speed was never just a friend and that was the reason you found it so hard to accept me in the beginning." Eric shook his head. "No! Speed and I…. I never thought of Speed like that. I love you Ryan, I need you. Speed just kissed me, I had no idea he was going to do that. I pushed him away."

Ryan turned back to look at him. "Why should I believe you?" And Eric didn't know what to say, didn't know how to make it better. Ryan looked at him and asked again. "Why should I believe you?" Eric opened his mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. Ryan shook his head and pushed Eric away from the car, getting in and driving off.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 16

He wasn't really sure why he was here.

He liked to think that Rowen had dragged him out to have coffee together so she could discuss Ryan and Eric, discuss what she could do to help them out, or to kill Eric without getting caught. But he knew that wasn't true because she hadn't breached that subject once, not since they got here anyway.

Instead they just talked. They talked about a lot of things, politics, morals, values, work, to many things to count. Conversation flowed easily, much easier then he'd imagined it would.

Not that he'd imagined or thought about moments like this with her.

Right.

It was a little disconcerting that she could read him that well or that she could throw him off without seeming to put any effort into it. It seemed completely natural to her and he couldn't be bothered thinking that it was a bad thing.

He drove her home and walked her up to her front door. She'd opened it and then leaned against the door post, her head cocked to the side, causing some of her brown hair to fall across her cheek. He resisted the urge to brush it away. She smiled at him as if she knew something he didn't.

"Lieutenant, you have no idea what you're doing here, do you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her question, not willing to admit he really had no idea what he was doing here. She raised an eyebrow back at him and smiled. She reached forward, grabbed a piece of fabric from his jacket and tugged him closer.

"Horatio." She breathed.

Then her lips were on his. He pressed closer and she was soft, warm and inviting. Her arms wound around his neck and he put his hands on her hips, deepening the kiss. They parted and she smiled at him, he smiled back. She grinned and tugged him inside.

--- ----- ---- --- --- -- -

Ryan stared at the phone, debating to himself whether or not he should call Rowen. He had a sneaking suspicion she already knew about Eric and Speed, but wasn't sure how she could know. His eyes flickered to the front door and back to the phone. Eric could come home any time, because Eric still lived here.

He wondered if he should go to bed already and then lock Eric out, make the Cuban sleep in the guest bedroom or something. He couldn't really see himself do anything off the sort. The turning of the lock on the front door alerted Ryan to Eric's presence and he bit back a groan, he really didn't want to be alone with Eric for now.

"Ryan." He heard Eric's voice but didn't turn around to watch him. Suddenly the Cuban was in front of him and hauled him up right before pressing their lips together in a bruising kiss. And Ryan could feel his resolve weaken, could feel his armour cracking because Eric was everything he'd ever want and need. A tear slipped past his eyelid and he trembled as Eric's arms wrapped around his waist.

Eric pulled back and Ryan drew a shuddering gasp, feeling the air return to his lungs. He stared at Eric, his eyes wide and he tried to back away, but Eric wouldn't let him.

"Ryan, listen to me. I never wanted Speed to kiss me, I pushed him away as soon as I realized what was going on. Speed said he didn't know why he did that, he's still working it out. But in reality I don't care what happens when Speed does work it out. Because all I want is you and nothing is going to change that. If Speed wants to be friends that's fine by me, but he could never, ever make me break it off with you."

"When Speed died, I lost my best friend, I didn't loose someone I had a crush on or something. I love you, Ryan, you're the first one I've ever fallen in love with and you'll be the only one. I don't know what's going on with Speed and I don't care, because I only care about, baby. You have to believe me."

Ryan sighed and looked up into Eric's warm eyes. "I do believe you, but I can't help but worry that one day you're going to leave me. Everyone else has. The only I ever trusted was Rowen and then you came along and the only thing I could was love you and trust you and then… When he broke up the first time and now this…"

"Ryan, please, I'm willing to do anything to keep this relationship together." Eric pleaded, sinking to his knees and wrapping his arms around Ryan's waist while burying his face in Ryan's belly. He could feel Ryan's fingers slide through his hair and allowed himself to relax slightly.

Ryan brought his hands back and pulled Eric's arms away from his waist, sinking to his knees as well. He was on the same level now as Eric and laid one hand on Eric's cheek. "Eric." His breath ghosted over Eric's skin and then Ryan's lips were on his, gentle and loving and Eric could feel fall off his shoulders.

Ryan pulled back and brushed some hair back from Eric's face. "You have to talk to Speed, that's the only thing I want you to do. I'm not telling you that you guys can't be friends, but I'm asking you to talk to him and make him understand that we're together. I love you Eric and if Speed decides he wants you, he's going to have to fight me for you."

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own

Note: I don't know if CSI's have to work on Saturday or not, but in this story they don't, so everyone has the day off.

Chapter 17

Rowen sighed contently and curled up next to Horatio, who was watching her. They'd gone to bed together and slept, just sleeping side by side and it had been nice. A small hand tugged on his and he looked at her, waking up from his thoughts. She smiled and he smiled back, reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He rested his hand on her cheek and she reached out with her own hand to rest on his cheek. She giggled and Horatio raised an eyebrow at her. Rowen's giggling turned into full blown laughter and laughing slightly himself he pulled her into his arms.

She buried her face in his chest while her body shook with laughter. Horatio didn't bother asking what was so funny.

--- --- -- --- ---MEANWHILE--- -- -- -- ----

They were spooned together, Eric's chest to Ryan's back. Eric rested his forehead on Ryan's shoulder and kissed the smooth skin. The younger man stirred but didn't wake. Eric smiled and softly stroked Ryan's hair.

He snuggled closer. He could almost taste the relief coursing through his veins. He didn't know what he would have done if Ryan had decided to leave him. He tightened his grip for a minute and Ryan sighed contently.

A ring broke through the silence and Eric swore, he looked around and spotted his cell phone going off. He quickly untangled himself from Ryan, took the phone and left the room, not wanting to wake Ryan. He answered the phone.

"Delko."

"Hey, Eric, it's Speed."

Eric gritted his teeth. "Yeah?"

"Wow, who shoved a stick up your ass today?"

"Listen Speed, I almost lost my relationship because of you, so don't even think of joking around."

"Alright, alright. Listen, I need to talk to you, but not on the phone, could you meet at the usual place?"

Eric sighed. "Fine, when?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Yeah."

Eric sighed. "Fine. I'll be there in twenty minutes." Eric hung up. Shaking his head he went back into the bedroom, watching Ryan on the bed. He crawled underneath the sheets and stroked his lover's back. "Ryan, baby, wake up."

"Hmmm, Eric?" "Yeah, it's me. Listen, Speed wants to talk to me, so I have to go." "Speed?" Ryan's voice was alarmed and he turned around to look at Eric. Eric shook his head. "Nothing is going to happen. He just wants to talk, I'll come home to you, I promise." Ryan blinked, his wide and he bit his lip. Mulling things over in his head he nodded. "Alright." Eric smiled and kissed his lover.

Eric quickly pulled on his clothes, kissed his lover goodbye and disappeared downstairs. It was only when he got to the bottom of the stairs he realized something was missing. There wasn't the usual banging coming from the kitchen, or the sound of Ice Age coming from the living room. The silence that hung in the house could only mean one thing: Rowen wasn't there.

Rowen always stopped by in the morning, whether it was to make breakfast or to make sure Ryan actually had some breakfast, she always stopped by. It was odd to experience her absence. He wondered what happened, but shook that off, he had to get to the bar Speed and he used to use to go for drinks after shift, before the other man 'died'.

-- --- -- -- --- MEANWHILE -- -- -- -- -

Rowen hummed to herself as she got two more waffles from the waffle iron and got them on plates without burning her hands. She smiled happily to herself as she thought about the man who was currently upstairs taking a shower in her bathroom. The urge to join him in the shower had been great, but she'd come down to make breakfast instead.

She giggled to herself when she imagined the shocked look Ryan would surely sport on his face when she told him she was interested in his boss. Rowen shrugged, he'd just have to deal with it. She put two plates on the kitchen table and smoothed her hands over the small shorts she was wearing. She racked one hand through her hair and sat down at the kitchen table.

She took a deep breath. Okay, so she and Horatio hadn't really talked about what they had going on yet, but that didn't mean it wasn't something lasting. Horatio didn't struck her as the kind of guy who would have slept with her if it wasn't something serious. And yeah, they hadn't had sex but he'd still slept in the same bed with her.

She could hear his footsteps on the stairs and she took a bite of her waffles, for a minute she could understand why Ryan had freak outs. Horatio entered the kitchen, dressed in the clothes he'd worn the day before, the three top buttons of his shirt open and his hair still wet.

She smiled and motioned to the small stack of waffles on the second plate. He smiled back and sat down next to her. She kept looking at him until he turned to look at her. "What?" He asked, his voice curious and she grinned. "Nothing." He raised an eyebrow and she raised one back. "You're always going to do that, aren't you?" He asked playfully.

Rowen nodded. "Probably." She said, laughter clear in her voice.

Horatio leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers, Rowen smiled and shifted closer while making sure she didn't fall of her seat. Horatio's hand came up to softly stroke her hair while his other hand gripped her hip. Rowen moved her hands up to thread her fingers through the wet tendrils of his hair. Their lips parted and Rowen leaned her forehead against his, feeling his breath on her skin.

They smiled.

--- --- -- - - MEANWHILE --- -- -- -- --

Eric got out of the car and approached the bar, it was the kind of place that was off the beaten path and was only visited by people who came there frequently. It was close to the crimelab and Speed and Eric had always used to it meet up after shift to talk about difficult cases, complain about women, rag on Calleigh, Horatio and Alexx in good humour or to simply get some drinks.

Eric entered and scanned the place, his eyes immediately seeking out Speed in their usual booth. He took a deep breath and approached the booth, his stride smooth and calm. He slid in across from Speed and shook his head when the bartender called out if he wanted a drink. Speed had a beer in front of him that seemed like it had hardly been sipped and Eric didn't want to order one because he was going to leave soon enough.

He wanted to get back home, back in bed, back to Ryan.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Speed nodded. "I've thought long and hard." He took a sip of his beer. Eric glared at him. "Listen, I really don't care right now, alright? I just want to know what you have to say and then I'm going back home."

Speed sighed. "You're not making this any easier." "Yeah, well if you hadn't kissed me in the first place you wouldn't be in this situation so get on with it." Speed took another sip. "Alright, I made a big mistake."

"Obviously."

"Will you shut up and let me finish?"

They glared at each other and Speed was the first to turn away. "I thought I was loosing you, you know. You'd been my best friend for a long time and when I found out you were gay … I didn't know what to think. And then I thought that, we wouldn't do the usual stuff we used to do anymore, we wouldn't go out for drinks, wouldn't watch football together and that really got to me."

"So you kissed me?"

Speed shrugged. "I was so confused that I felt that was the only way I could, the only way we would still hang out together… But then I just realized how messed up that sounded and … "

Eric sighed. "You're an idiot, you know that?" Speed nodded. "Yeah, I know… So what happens now?"

Eric rubbed the back of his neck. "We can still be friends, man. We can still watch football together and go out for drinks. Things haven't changed except for the fact that I now have someone to go home too. I won't be able to go out all the time, but I will be able to go out, you know. The fact that Ryan is another man doesn't change anything. Besides I still need someone to watch football with or something because Ryan hates sports."

They laughed together for a second and Speed shifted uneasily. "Look man, I'm really sorry for the troubles I've caused, you know. I just hope things aren't too late for you and Ryan." Eric shook his head. "Ryan and I are fine now. But I swear Speed if you ever pull something as stupid as that, I am going to kill you myself."

Speed nodded. "Duly noted." Eric nodded back. "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get home and under the sheets." Speed rolled his eyes. Eric ignored him and continued. "And when I'm finished with that I have to explain to Ryan that you're being an idiot and the two of us are just friends. And on top of that I have to convince Rowen that she doesn't have to castrate me."

They laughed at each other and Eric took off while Speed merely finished his drink.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own

Chapter 18

Eric eased himself down on the couch, pulling Ryan down with him. His lover laughed and made himself comfortable leaning on Eric. They were silent for a while, simply basking in each other's company when suddenly Ryan frowned. "That's odd."

Eric nuzzled Ryan's cheek. "What is?" He whispered and he could feel Ryan shiver. "Rowen… I haven't seen her all day. And it's Saturday." The young man said and Eric nodded. "Yeah, I noticed this morning, she wasn't banging around in the kitchen." Ryan nodded. "Yeah, I woke up and wondered why it was so quiet… and then I wondered why that bothered me so much."

Eric chuckled and Ryan smiled.

"I don't mind so much, the longer she stays away the longer I get to live. But it's just so odd that she isn't here." Eric said, softly stroking Ryan's hair and Ryan shivered slightly then blinked. "Wait? The longer you get to live? Did you tell her about you and Speed?"

"Are you insane? She'd kill me on the spot."

"Then why do you think she knows?"

"Well, when I ran into her the other day, when she was talking to H she seemed pretty pissed off."

Ryan frowned. "But how could she know? I didn't tell her." Eric blinked. "You didn't?" Ryan shook his head. Eric bit his lip. "Maybe she found out some other way." Ryan shrugged. "No body else… knows." Ryan trailed off and groaned. Rowen must have had a run in with Sarah, that was how she knew and now she'd be pissed at him for not telling her.

"What?" Eric asked but Ryan merely shook his head. "Maybe she won't show up today." Ryan said in thought.

Just then the door opened and a cheerful "Hello!" resounded through the air. Ryan rolled his eyes. "Spoke to soon." Eric shifted uneasily and made his move as to get up, but he moved to late, attested by the whack on the back of his head he received.

"Rowen!" Ryan said, sharply. Rowen rolled her eyes settled herself down in the armchair next to the couch. "I can see the two of you are alright." Ryan shifted. "Why wouldn't we be?" Rowen raised an eyebrow at Ryan. "Well, Eric and Speed did kiss. And I know you know Ryan. So why are you two so… fluffy?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow at Rowen. "Fluffy?" Rowen shrugged. "It's a good word." Ryan rolled his eyes and Rowen ignored him, instead turning her attention to Eric. "So? How come Ryan hasn't kicked you out yet?"

Eric sighed. "Because Speed kissed me, not the other way around and I pushed him away. Speed was just confused, he just wants to be friends, but he couldn't deal with the fact I was gay. I mean, I used to have a notorious ladies man reputation."

Ryan snorted and Rowen glared at him. Eric looked from one to the other then shrugged, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know all the inside jokes between them.

"Anyway, Speed thought that was the only thing we could still hang out and do stuff. I don't know, he was desperate I guess, but he just wants to be friends."

Rowen seemed to consider that for a minute then nodded happily and got up from the armchair, going into the kitchen and coming back with a box of ice cream. She sat on the armrest Indian style and plopped the box in her lap, tearing off the top and digging in with her spoon.

Ryan stared at her. "You're just going to accept that? No difficulties? Nothing? You're not going to yell at Eric? You're not going to yell at me for not telling you?" Rowen looked up at him and took a bite off her ice cream. After swallowing she smiled. "I guess I'm just in a very good mood today."

Ryan sat up straight. "Why?" Rowen merely smiled softly. "Oh, nothing special."

She grinned.

The End

St: And that my friends is the end of Fluo Green, the so far longest part of The Odd Colour Series. I'll see you at the next part: Shimmering Red

Greets, Swift tales


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